


Inconvenient Truths

by Natasi (SwordDraconis113)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fic Exchange, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Red Queen Week 2016, Truth Spells, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-23 22:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8345713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwordDraconis113/pseuds/Natasi
Summary: For magicsophicorn, Red Queen Fic ExchangeRuby returns from Oz with a bad case of needing a curse broken. Turns out, there's only one person for the job.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magicsophicorn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicsophicorn/gifts).



> Prompt: Truth serum/magic spell which means one or both of them (or other people around them, up to you!) can only the tell the truth for a certain period of time. Fluffy awkwardness ensues. 
> 
> &
> 
> Shy.
> 
> (I would have posted straight to AO3...but, 20k seems a bit too much for it. Hope you enjoy!)

 

Ruby yawned, stretching in bed. She was warm from the golden light on her skin, filtering in through translucent curtain. Turning, she caught sight of a Blondie poster hanging besides David Bowie’s ripped-at-the-corner poster. _Oh_ , she remembered with a jolt.

Sitting up, she pushed the blankets off, feeling a buzz rush over her. She was home. After ages of travelling through realms, after months of Oz, she was finally _home_.

Her feet padded quietly, reaching in her dusty knapsack to pull out her toothbrush. On her way down the hall, she paused by the linen closest and grabbed a spare, white towel before continuing her path. 

She assumed that Granny was already awake, in her office doing last minute organising downstairs, as she usually had before Ruby had left, but with all the noise of Storybrooke, it was difficult to work out what belonged to whom.

But if Granny did hear her tip-toeing around, she’d probably assume that one of the guests was up early, making themselves at home in the shared bathroom. No one knew she was coming back for a visit. Not even Ruby knew until last night, when her situation had become unbearable.

Slipping into the shower, she washed her hair with a gracious amount of shampoo and conditioner, taking her time under the hot water. Finally, as her skin began to turn as bright as her namesake, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower into the steam. Drawing in a deep breath, she brought in the smell of the diner and felt ease wash over her. 

She’d been away for too long.

Wrapping a towel around herself, she made her way back to her bedroom and opened up her wardrobe, opting to dress in her old Ruby gear. Her underwear was still neatly packed away, with her assortment of matching and lone bras in the drawer below.

And god, didn’t it just feel _nice_ to be in soft cotton again? She breathed out a sigh as she stretched in the red shirt and tight jeans, feeling her back arch. A part of her, the Ruby part more-so than the Red, missed wearing jeans. They didn’t have anything like _these_ ones, even if they had denim overalls in Dorothy’s home world.

Which, FYI, was _not_ the same.

She had also missed the feeling of a bra instead of a corset, of high-rise underwear and elastic bands in her hair, tying it up into a neat, tight ponytail.

Pulling on her old doc martins, she slapped her legs and stared at herself in the mirror, just to make sure she looked as presentable as she felt.

She looked good, she looked like a different part of herself again. Being in Oz had been incredible for a time. Mulan and Dorothy both had been wonderful and even though she had missed her eyeliner and lipstick (there wasn’t an easier alternative in Oz. Unless you liked staining berries and stealing charcoal from the fire), it had been amazing to have had that change.

But things hadn’t been quite right over the last couple of months, and inevitably, the other ruby slipper _dropped_ and… 

_Dorothy,_ she remembered with a pang. 

Pushing that aside, she listened to the steps of Granny downstairs. _There_. Ruby headed to where the diner connected with the b &b and posed, awaiting Granny’s surprise as she came from the backroom, heading towards the diner to open up.

“Good to see you, girlie,” she received instead, as her grandmother breezed past her.  She hadn’t been surprised in the least. Ruby’s lips parted, her eyes going wide as she stared at Granny. “Bacon and eggs, as usual?”

Ruby pouted.

Stopping then, her grandmother turned and smiled brightly, coming over to pull her into a tight hug. “I heard you sneak in last night. Couldn’t be bothered waking your granny up for a hello?”

Clinging to the hug, Ruby closed her eyes and breathed in. There was still an ache in her chest, left over from the homesickness. She hadn’t realised just how much she’d missed her. “Sorry,” she said. “I thought three in the morning was a bit late.”

“It was early.”

Ruby winced. “Time differences, right?”

Granny pulled away, placing her hands on Ruby’s cheek. “Just remember, you’re always welcome to wake me up for a hello. Anytime, you hear?” Her grandmother offered a small scowl, before smiling again. “Anytime,” she said, making a point with her infliction of the word.

“I’ll remember that.”

Chuckling, Granny dropped her hands away and looked around. “Didn’t hear you bring any company with you,” she said, her eyes meeting Ruby’s again. “Everything okay?”

Ruby smiled, “No, not in the least,” she said. Pausing, she closed her mouth, feeling the familiar frustration burn in her. She had hoped that the spell wouldn’t carry over to Storybrooke. “I need to speak with… _Gold_.” Good, there was truth in that, at least. “Soon.”

“Gold?” 

“I-I’ll explain it later,” she smiled then. 

Granny stared at her, lips pressed in a thin line. Still, Eugene Lucas knew her granddaughter well enough to know that if Ruby wanted to tell her, she would eventually. “All right, let’s get you some breakfast, first.”

Pleased that she wasn’t being pressed, Ruby allowed herself to be lead into the diner where she made them both a coffee as Granny opened up the diner to allow the morning staff came in. As they began setting up, Granny went out back to where the kitchen staff had already began prep to cook Ruby a greasy breakfast.

A few offered surprised hellos to Ruby, but there were a few vague faces that Ruby couldn’t place a name to. 

“Eat up,” Granny said, when she had set down the plate of food. And then, as Ruby took her first bite, “Wanna speak about that curse you’ve got?”

“Not yet,” the curse answered for her, using her mouth as a prop. Ruby scowled, hating the feeling of her jaw and voice becoming a puppet to the magic. “Soon,” she said, lifting her eyes to meet Granny’s. “I wanna talk to Gold about it first.”

Granny nodded. “Are you going to go see the others?”

“Yes,” she answered. Then, coughing, “after I fix this problem. I mean, it’s not a _horrific_ curse, it’s just a small mishap that I think needs like a counter-curse before I…say anything bad.”

Granny’s frown was deepening, further unconvinced. “If you say so,” she said, turning to serve the first of the morning customers. The early-risers who got up at 6.00 on the dot, and usually were here when they opened by 7.30.

“Ruby?”

“Yes,” the spell answered, despite the bacon still in her mouth. Coughing, Ruby turned and froze, struck by the sight of Regina, whom of course, always arrived at 7.30 on every morning (except on a Thursday) before heading to her office. 

She hadn’t even considered running into her, and she should have. It should have been central in her mind –– and if the curse had worked on her thoughts, as it did with her voice, she would had known that a part of her _had_ known that fact.

Ruby found herself dumbstruck to see the mayor. She looked good. Really good, actually Her hair had been cut since she last saw her, back to the more stylish cut rather than the awkward not-long-enough-but-growing-it-out length. She was dressed in her usual mayoral attire, with a blue shirt to break up against her black skirt and jacket combo.

And she wore stockings. Not pantyhose, but stockings and Ruby knew this because she knew what all six garter belts looked like in intimate detail. She also knew what it felt like to snap ––

No, she didn’t _know_ for sure if that was true. She _thinks_ she knows what it feels like to snap the belt, but there was every possibility that none of those thoughts were actually memories.

Ruby realised that she had to leave, like, immediately. She’d been staring far too long and Regina was going ask a question soon.

“Hey,” Ruby said instead. “How are you?” Smooth, Lucas. Real smooth.

“Good,” Regina answered, more than a little awkward. It was almost…cute? No, not cute, that was not the word. Regina wasn’t _cute_ she was… “I didn’t realise that you were back from…Oz, was it?”

“Yes.” Ruby swallowed. “Just arrived this morning. After the staff here, you’re the first to know, actually.” She forced out a laugh, then stopped it, swallowing back the sound as her hand closing tightly around the stainless steel fork and knife. She needed to say something good, before making her way out to see Gold. No, what she needed to do was _not_ say anything stupid. “Well, ah, you look good.” _Dammit._

“As do you.” Regina nodded, smiling at her, then, and god, it sent warmth cascading through Ruby’s body. “It’s good to have you back, dear.”

“Good to be back,” she said as hope spilled in her chest, before constricting suddenly. She could feel the curse swim inside of her, wanting to say it. Clamping her mouth shut, Ruby nodded and pushed her half-filled plate away. She needed to see Gold. “Well, I’m off to run an errand,” she said. “I’ll see you around?”

Regina blinked, startled by her sudden reply. “Of course,” Regina said. “Perhaps we could organise a welcome home party. With Snow and everyone, of course.”

Ruby almost snorted at the idea of _Snow White_ and _Regina Mills_ planning her welcome home party. Regina had come along way since she left. 

“Oh, no thank you,” she said quickly, hoping that she had stifled her amused smile before Regina could see it. “No, something always happens when we have a party, I think I’ll just keep it on the down-low.”

Regina quirked her head, before nodding. “If that’s what you want.”

“Thank you. See you,” she said, giving a short wave –– why the hell did she _wave_ –– before quickly darting out of the diner as her cheeks began to heat. _Shit_ , she needed to get to Gold’s and sort this out before running into anyone else. The last thing she needed to do was embarrass herself in front of anyone else.

At least, the truth curse hadn’t said anything bad around Regina. That would have been horrible, in her current state. She could just imagine the disaster: _Oh hello Ruby, how have you been?_

_Not good, actually. Regina._

_What’s wrong, dear?_

_Oh, I left my girlfriend because I got cursed with a truth spell by some witch and accidentally admitted that I think about you a lot. Mostly about you in bed. By the way, did we used to sleep with each other?_

No, nope. It was probably best if she just _avoided_ Regina until the damned curse was gone and broken. 

She had a simple, easy-to-follow plan: see Gold, get curse broken, go see Snow and everyone else. Avoid Regina.

Except, when she arrived at her destination, the Pawn Shop had a ‘closed until further notice’ sign taped to the window. 

Ruby stared at the shop window, willing for the sign to cease existence. Not that that would take away from the fact that there was a _reason_ it had been put up in the first place. 

“Shit.” Taking the brass handle, she rattled the door, before knocking loudly. Nothing moved inside of the shop. It was as if the sign was speaking as truthfully as she was.

Great, now all she had to do was dodge anyone who might ask a question as she tried to get to a phone. Or, maybe she could go back to Granny’s. No, no, that was a bad idea, she might run into Regina who was probably still ordering a coffee, or on her way out. 

She could sneak around the back, maybe. 

“Ruby?” _Dammit._

“Yes,” she answered. Damn this curse. Turning on her heel, she smiled at David. “Hey, haven’t seen you since you were not-dead. How are you?”

“When did you get back?”

“This morning, around three.” _Double-damn this curse_.

“Early,” he noted, his expression turning puzzled. “Is ––“

“How’s Mary-Margaret?” Ruby cut in. 

“Good… I think?”

“Yes.” For fuck’s sake, she glared at herself, that question hadn’t even been _directed_ to her.

“Everything ––?”

“Are you off to the diner?”

“Okay?” Charming continued, stopping suddenly to step back and placed his hands on his waist in his ‘ _Okay, what’s going on here’_ pose.

“:No,” the curse answered for her and Ruby clenched her hand. Charming’s ever-perceptive eyes looked down to it just as Ruby tried to unclench and offer him a smile.

“No…?” he said, meeting her eyes again.

“I’ve been cursed,” she said, then scowled. “I need to go find… _someone_ ,” Ruby nodded,  pleased the curse allowed that much before she pressed her mouth shut. David turned, looking at Gold’s window. 

“You know, you could try Regina first. She’s good now.”

“I know,” she said, her voice coming out like a tired whine. “I just…would prefer Gold first. He’s had more experience with this stuff, you know?”

“Right.” David looked at her oddly, as if she’d grown a second mouth. There was no way she could get away with heading back to the diner and using Granny’s phone to call Gold. She should just…leave.

Again.

“Did you say you were ––“

“Well, I better go,” she said before David could finish his sentence. Stepping around him, she waved –– what was it with her waving!? –– and jogged off down the street, the opposite way to where David was heading, and towards one of the quieter roads.

God. Dammit.

“Ruby?” she heard, calling behind her. “What do you mean cursed?”

“I mean I’m cursed to tell the truth,” she found herself saying back, long out of earshot from David. Small mercies in the world.

It wasn’t long before she finally found the one phone booth in all of Storybrooke. She’d run into a few people, but no one who bothered to muster up anything further than a “didn’t know you were back!” No questions, just hellos and statements, thank the gods. 

She’d quickly jammed in a few coins she’d found in the pocket of jeans –– again, small mercies –– and had been connected to the operator who was diligent enough. “Hold please while I connect your call.”

The plastic phone receiver was cold in her hands as she bounced on the rubber soles of her docs. _Please, please pick up._ There were more people starting to wake-up and open up their shops or begin doing their early morning errands. _Come on, Gold_. _I need this fixed_.

“Yes?” Gold’s voice came, through the receiver.

“Finally,” she said, breathing out a sigh of relief. “Gold, I need your help.”

There was a pause, before an amused, low laugh, “Miss Lucas, I wasn’t aware of your return.”

“I arrived this morning.”

“I see.”

“I have a curse. I need you to break it because it’s really messing up my life.”

“And why have you come to me and not Ms Mills?”

“Too worried about what might happen if I talk to her.” She sealed her lips shut, coughing her throat as if there was something stuck there.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Gold paused, before then saying, “Then, perhaps Miss Swan? She does have a knack for breaking curses, after all.”

“No.” Ruby glared, staring at the phone as her jaw clenched. “I’m embarrassed about what I’ll say if _she_ asks questions that I don’t want to answer.”

A silence followed. Ruby panicked, wondering if he’d hung up. “I see,” he said, sounding as if he had concluded to what her predicament just was. “Unfortunately, I know exactly what particular curse vexes you currently. It’s not something I can fix at this moment.”

“Liar,” Ruby hissed.

“As true as that may be,” he said. “I am, however, detained in important business and unable to come back for some unknown time. Though, I’m sure that the Ms Mills will be… _pleased_ to help you.”

“Come on!”

“Sorry, dearie. Enjoy your curse. I look forward to seeing what unravels by my return.”

Ruby hung up the phone, biting back at her frustration. She took a breath and sighed. She had no other choice, she was going to have to ask Regina. Or maybe Emma. Emma could be good. Emma was the saviour and she needed…saving. If she spoke quickly, maybe Emma would _not_ ask questions and she wouldn’t have to worry about Regina being around and being…

Ruby sighed, looking back, to the direction of the diner. Would Emma be having breakfast or at the Sheriff’s station, now? Or was she at home after finishing her shift?

“Ruby?” _By the gods_ , what was with her luck this morning?

“Yes,” she answered, turning to see who had spoken. “Henry! Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“Summer holidays,” he said. Of course it is. “How come you’re at the payphone?”

“I just rang Gold,” she answered him. Her mouth opened to interject a question, but she fumbled, her jaw struggling to say anything. “Wow! You’ve grown!” she managed, then winced. That was definitely awkward.

“Right. Why are you calling Gold?” 

“I’m cursed and I didn’t want to go to Regina for help, first.” She answered, then scowled again. “Where’s Emma, maybe she can help me?”

Henry tilted his head. “Ah, okay. But you should see Mum about it. She’s good now, you know.”

Ruby smiled, well, him and Regina had definitely come along way too. “I know. It’s not that I don’t think she’s good. I’m just…embarrassed.” She tried to add _that’s all_ but had the uncomfortable feeling of being unable to open her jaw. Great. “Are you off to see your…mum, by any chance?” 

“Emma, yeah.”

Right. Must have been Regina’s night then. Ruby nodded. “All right, cool. So…how about you tell me about school and we’ll walk over?”

Henry squinted at her. He was still a few inches shorter than her, but he’d definitely shot up since she last saw him. “It’s not as interesting as Oz,” he answered.

Ruby pulled on her puppy eyes, pouting at Henry. “Please,” she said. “I would like to hear about what I’ve missed here.”

Henry’s feet slowed, his eyes wide as he continued to stare at her, looking pained. “That’s unfair. Your promised you wouldn’t do that to me anymore.”

She smiled, “Sorry, I’ve been perfecting it. It’s way better, right?”

Henry laughed. “I bet you can get Mulan and Dorothy to side with _anything_ you say.”

Ruby’s mouth parted, her words shut off as she thought about her two friends. About her once-girlfriend who still loved her. Whom she still loved. “Sometimes,” she answered. “They’re pretty immune for the most part.”

“What’s your curse?” he asked.

“Answering truthfully,” she said. Sighing, she looked at Henry. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“No, I bet. That sounds kinda awful,” he said. “But it’s still cook.”

“I suppose it is kinda cool,” Ruby said. “If I hadn’t been under it..

“So…you can’t even say a little lie?”

“No. And I answer _every_ question I’m asked, which can get you into a sh–, err, lot of trouble.”

Henry stated at her, wincing sympathetically. “That must suck.”

“ _Super_ sucks,” she said, before offering him a smile. “But I’m here, right? So it’s not the worst thing to exist ever.”

“I guess?” Henry said, with a frown pulling at his forehead.

“So how about that recap, hey?”

“You’re avoiding something,” he said. 

She shrugged. It wasn’t a question and he didn’t press it. Instead, he looked at her inquisitively, before launching into a recap of what she missed as they walked down the streets to where the Sheriff’s Station was.

“You know,” Henry said as they rounded the corner where the station was. “She’s getting good, but… Mum probably won’t be able to help you.”

“I know,” she said, then sighed. It’d be nice if she could at least lie to herself. “Emma does has magic though, not to mention that curse-breaking is kinda what she’s known for. There’s at least a _small_ chance she could fix this.”

“Why won’t you go to mum? My other mum, that is.”

Ruby clamped her jaw shut, fighting the words. “ _Scared_ ,” she answered shortly, and then breathed out. That was close.

“Of ––“

“Dude,” Ruby broke in. “It’s complicated and _maybe_ starts back around fifteen or so years ago. I _know_ Regina is good and that she could probably wave her hand and fix this, but there’s the possibility of her asking something that I don’t want to answer.” She huffed, clenching her fist as Henry stared at her with surprise. She hadn’t meant to snap at him. 

“You’re not lying,” Henry said. “But there’s more to it than that.”

“Yeah, there is,” she said, easing her muscles. She was scared. Not just if Regina asked an innocent question and she ended up asking about the last fifteen years. But Ruby had found herself pining over old maybe-memories. If they were real, she was definitely aching for…something.

Maybe she always had been. Dammit.

But there was still the possibility that her memory of that time wasn’t _real_. That the twenty-eight year curse had confused her daydreams with reality and everything she was pining over was just a fantasy. 

She wasn’t sure which was worse.

“Is this about Dorothy?” Henry asked. Ruby turned and glared at him.

“Partially,” she said. Then squinted. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Okay,” Henry nodded. “I’m sorry, about asking all the questions.”

Ruby frowned, reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder and awkwardly patting it. Henry turned to look at her hand, frowning at it. She couldn’t blame him, it was a weird pat.

“I’m not ready to talk about some stuff, okay?”

Henry nodded. “Right, so you think I’m being too pushy?”

“Yes,” Ruby said, then frowned at the hurt that flushed over his face. “Look, I know why you’re asking questions, but right now I want to keep a lot of things to myself. When I work them out, I might talk about some stuff.”

Henry paused, looking as if his thoughts were turning over something, before he nodded. “I think I understand,” he said. “It’s different when you’re made to say something.”

“Exactly,” she said. “Thanks for understanding.” She stepped away, ruffling his hair as she did. Henry scowled, fixing it back in place. 

“Mean,” he said to her again, smiling.

“Oh, I know.”

They entered the Sheriff’s Station, to where Emma sat, crowded around boxes of junk and paper. Without looking up, Emma said: “I was thinking that for dinner we could do hamburgers. What do you think?”

“I’d like that,” Ruby answered. 

Emma jumped, a smile pooling over her face as she realised who had spoken “I didn’t know you were back!”

“Yeah, I’ve been getting that a lot,” she said. “Next time I’ll try to send notice.”

Standing up, Emma came around and pulled her into a tight, brief hug. As she stepped back, her eyes glanced around, looking to see if anyone else had followed in with her and Henry. “Where’s Dorothy?”

Ruby’s smile fell. “Oz,” she answered, forcing a smile on her mouth again. “I ––“ she stopped, unable to say _will explain it later_. Dammit. “Left her with Mulan,” she finished, coughing to hide the choke of words.

“Oh, cool. Sure,” Emma nodded. “Are you just here to say hi, or is something wrong?”

“Something’s wrong,” Ruby winced, “I kinda got a problem and thought you might be able to help me.”

“She’s cursed,” Henry said. “Can only tell the truth.”

“The whole truth and nothing but the truth?” Emma said with a grin.

“Not the _whole_ truth,” Ruby replied, turning to glare at the kid, “But, otherwise, yes. That’s the problem that I was trying to subtly get to.” She sighed, rubbing at the back of her neck. “It’s causing some problems for me. I tried going to Gold but he is apparently ‘detained’ somewhere.”

Emma frowned. “I didn’t know that.” Ruby shrugged, she didn’t know any more than that. “Well, to be honest, Regina’s probably better with this sort of thing. Do you want me to call her?”

“No. No, I…” Ruby said, drawing in a breath, “I just thought that you _might-be-able-to-do-it-instead_?” she rushed, ducked her eyes away.

Emma blinked, her mouth parting at the rush of words. “She’s good now, Rubes. She wouldn’t ––“

“I _know_ ,” Ruby said. “Look, there’s just some messy history between us and I don’t really want to talk to her when everything coming out of my mouth is the unavoidable truth.”

Emma frowned and nodded, coming to whatever conclusion she had from that. Probably that she and Regina might get into a verbal fighting match. Or an actual fighting match as she pissed off Regina and Regina pissed her off.

It _was_ a possibility, and to be honest, she wasn’t against it. Arguing with Regina was a ––

Thought she would not allow while standing next to Emma and Henry. “So,” she said, looking at Emma. “Think you could help me?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said. “But I don’t really know how to break a, err, truth curse _?_ ”

“Yes,” Ruby answered.

Emma nodded. “I’ll read some…books and see what I can find out. Maybe I’ll ask Regina.” Ruby winced. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep you out of it.” 

Still, she’d rather keep the whole situation on the down-low for as long as possible, even if in the first two hours, almost everyone she came in contact with seemed to be in on what she had hoped to keep between herself and whomever fixed her. “So…I might head back to Granny’s then?” Ruby said.

“No, stay,” Emma said. “I’m just doing paperwork, you can catch me up with what you’ve been up to.”

Henry grinned at her, trying to use his own version of her puppy eyes. Ruby stared between the big, hopeful eyes of Emma and Henry’s plead. Dammit, that just wasn’t fair. “Okay,” she said. “But no questions allowed until this curse situation is fixed, got it?”

“Sure, I get it.”

Henry nodded as well.

“Good,” Ruby said. 

Emma smiled and then paused. “How’s everyone in Oz?”

“For the most part, good,” Ruby answered with a pointed stare.

“Sorry, it’s…actually a lot harder than I expected.”

“Yeah, that’s what everyone says. Anyway, I met Glinda.”

“Was she…um, pink?” Emma asked, wincing at herself. “Sorry.”

“Yes. Her dress was not as fwoofy as I had expected.”

Emma’s lips twisted, looking disappointed with the answer. “Big, crazy hair?” 

“Nope. And what part about no questions are you not getting?”

“Sorry.” She smiled at Ruby, looking up at her guiltily. “Okay, how about you just tell me some stories and I’ll sit here and only make comments.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Henry agreed.

“Fine,” Ruby said, sitting down on the side of a perpendicular desk to Emma. “But I’m trusting you.”

They spoke lightly for the next hour, only a few questions accidentally asked, as they talked about Oz and then about Storybrooke and _Belle was pregnant and staying as far away from Gold as possible, what the hell?_ Before Henry mentioned he was doing an early-lunch with Regina and would see them later. Emma and Ruby both gave their goodbyes to Henry, just as Charming and Snow White walked in with baby Neal.

Ruby blinked, looking at the hurt expression on her friend’s face as she stood defensively, her lips pursed. She probably should have rang Snow and told her she was back, at least.

“Hey,” she said, the word sounding loaded. “How are you?”

“Does everyone but me know you’re here?” Snow asked, clipping her words.

Ruby walked over, wrapping her arms around her friend and pulled her into a much-wanted hug. Quickly, Snow returned it, placing her head on top of her shoulder. “Sorry,” Ruby explained, muffled by the yellow jumper. “I’ve just been dealing with a situation.”

“I assumed as much,” Snow said, before pulling away. “I spoke with Regina first, who was curious as to why you were acting strange, then David told me that he ran into you, and then I’m doing my shopping with Neal and I hear from the _grocer_ that he saw you, only to come here and see that you’re with Henry and Emma!”

Henry looked between them all, muttered about how he should really go, and ducked out of the room. Snow huffed, staring at Ruby. “Well?” she asked.

Ruby’s mouth opened, “I was trying to avoid as many people as I could but everyone seems to be up and walking around before nine.”

Snow raised her eyebrows. “And why were you avoiding _me_?”

“Because I was scared to answer questions,” Ruby said, then glared, hissing under her breath. “Uh!” she said quickly, holding up her hand just as Snow was about to ask her next question. “Before you ask anything, know that I _may_ be cursed and prone to answering every question at the moment so I would –– _prefer ––_ less questions and more statements.” She said, before quickly adding, “Please,”

Snow nodded. “I see. So you were…concerned that I would ask questions…and you would be forced to answer them. Is that right?”

“Yes,” Ruby said, then narrowed her eyes. “No questions.”

Snow opened her mouth and then closed it. Turning to Charming. 

“Who cursed you?” David asked.

“A witch,” Ruby asked. “You guys are all so bad this. Look, I don’t know her name, I just…happened to accidentally piss her off. There was a mix-up and we thought she was the one causing people to fall asleep in the poppy field. She didn’t take too well to being falsely accused by me.”

“Seems a bit extreme,” Emma said.

Ruby turned, smiling awkwardly, “I may…have declared her guilt in front of the village and lost her some business. She decided that it was a fitting punishment.”

“So you came to Emma to see if she could break the curse.” Snow said.

“Yes,” Ruby said. 

“Why didn’t you go to Regina, first?”

“Because I’m scared,” the curse said quickly, hurting her mouth. “Ow,” she muttered, stretching her jaw. “Look, just…statements, remember?” Ruby said, nodding at everyone, “Alright? It’s an unpleasant curse.”

“Sorry,” Snow said, reaching out to press a hand on her shoulder. “So, what can we do?”

“Just keep it to yourselves for now,” the curse answered. In fairness, Snow looked apologetic at that one. “Emma will fix this, and if she can’t I will…” she swallowed, “go to Regina and ask for her help.”

“She’s good now, you know?”

“Yes, I know!” Ruby said. Breathing out a sigh, she shook her head at the stunned expressions on everyone’s face. “Sorry, everyone keeps telling me that. It’s…annoying,” she said, stretching her jaw. “Anyway, I might go back to Granny’s and ––“

“You can have lunch with us.” Snow interjected. “We’ll be on our best behaviour and we haven’t seen you for so long.”

The whole family was giving her that hopeful look again. Looking around, she swallowed awkwardly and laughed. “Alright, fine. But no questions,” she said. As if to speak to her, baby Neal reached up and cooed at her. “Well _you_ can ask a question,” she said, leaning down to coo back at him. “Because I don’t understand you, so it doesn’t matter. Does it?”

“So if someone asks in another language?” Emma asked.

“Nothing.” Turning away from Neal, Ruby said. “But the curse doesn’t understand rhetorical questions, unfortunately.” She wiggled her fingers at the baby, smiling as Neal showed off his gums. “Look how beautiful he is,” she said.

“He’s standing,” Snow said proudly. “He stood the other day against the coffee table, didn’t he?”

“Yep, fast learner,” Charming grinned. “Like his father.”

“Won’t be long until you’re _walking_ mister,” Ruby said, then smiled at Snow. She had really missed being in Storybrooke. She also missed holding her godson. “So, where did you want to eat?”

“You could come back to ours?” Snow offered. “Limit the amount of people you’d see.”

Ruby nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Well,” David said, stepping back. “I’ll stay here with Emma. We’re on duty, after-all.”

“We’ll pick you guys something up, won’t we?” Snow beamed, turning to Ruby. It felt normal, more importantly, it felt _right_ just how easily everything seemed.

“Yes,” the spell answered for her. But it didn’t hurt her jaw. In fact, Ruby could almost believe that she said it of her own volition. 

An hour later and Ruby found herself feeling less comfortable. Mary-Margaret’s old apartment wasn’t as she remembered. A lot of the embroidered throw pillows, the dollies and bright, cushy home touches had been removed. There were still flowers, still pictures of birds and knick-knacks covering available surfaces, but it was _different_ to how she remembered it. It almost felt like a modern decor of the castle, before the curse had hit.

It belonged to Snow and David now. And baby Neal, of course. There was toys strewn about. A changing table, stuffed in the corner. It was more cluttered, even with the extra room since Emma moved out, but it felt…odd to her.

Ruby paused, looking around to the second level. Had Emma moved out? Perhaps she still carried all her items in three easy-to-pack boxes with spare underwear in the back of her car.Gods, Ruby hoped not. 

Earlier, she had set out the plates of dips and cheeses as Snow made sandwiches and quickly ran four, glad-wrapped sandwiches to the Sheriff’s Station, with two bottles of soda. Ruby stayed with baby Neal, singing to him the same lullaby she had wanted to sing to Emma all those years go. 

When Snow had returned from her lunch delivery, she’d made a pot of tea for the both of them, smiling as Ruby asked if she could have coffee instead. “Sucks not have espresso machines in Oz, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, dammit. You have no idea. I’m tempted to take some instant with me if I go back.”

“Oh, I remember when Emma and I were stuck in the Enchanted Forest.” Snow paused at her, tilting her head. “Did you just say _if_ you go back? _”_

“Yes.” Ruby opened her mouth and stopped as Snow raised a brow at her. “I-I’m not sure yet,” she stuttered. “I _love_ the adventure and I still haven’t found another wolf-pack but…” she swallowed hard at the cursed words rising. “I do miss you guys,” she said, smiling up at Snow and quickly looking away to cut a piece of brie for her cracker.

“Mmhmm, and is Dorothy okay with this?”

“I don’t know,” she said, honestly. 

Snow took a breath, pulling up her lecture face. “You should probably discuss it with her first. She has her whole family too, doesn’t she?” Snow paused. “Does she?”

“Sort of. She has her Uncle and some of his old friends from the farm. But they’re in another land,” Ruby answered. “They’re retired now and I don’t think they like me that much, to be honest.”

“Well, I’m not surprised, they’re from a different…” Snow paused, “…culture?” she tried then, tilting her head.

“Yes,” came the spell, once again like a bad case of hiccups that won’t leave. “I don’t really know for sure,” Ruby shrugged. “But I don’t think it’s the bisexual thing, I think it’s more of a wolf thing.”

“And that’s a problem with you and Dorothy?” Snow asked.

Ruby shook her head. “No, she doesn’t really care about the wolf. I think after flying monkeys and witches, werewolves was relatively easy to understand.” Ruby breathed, out, rolling her shoulders. “So you and Charming going to say in this apartment with Neal?”

“No. We’re going to move,” Snow said, in a tone Ruby realised too late, was dismissive. She had no time to interrupt when Snow asked, “What’s going on with you and Dorothy?”

“We’re not happy together,” she managed to say before spell answered. Narrowing her eyes, she stared at Snow, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Ruby,” Snow said, “did this happen before the spell, or after?”

Ruby felt panic claw at her chest, “after,” she answered. “Snow, please. Just drop it.”

Her best friend frowned, lips pursing in a way that told Ruby she wasn’t about to just drop it. “Okay,” she said. “For now.” Ruby sighed, the panic easing inside of her.

“Thank you. I don’t really feel like talking while I’m like this. I can’t even refuse to answer or lie.” That, Ruby realised, had been the wrong thing to say. Snow’s eyes snapped to hers, back straightening as her head tilting in a frighteningly inquisitive way.

“Why would you need to lie to me?” she asked, sounding more like a mother in that tone, than she ever had before.

“Because I don’t want to admit the truth,” her voice said. Snapping her jaw shut, Ruby bared her teeth, stepping away from Snow. “ _Please_ , just leave it.”

“What truth?” Snow pursued.

“About why we broke up. Dammit Snow, _please_!” Ruby glared.

“You broke up?” Snow said with a small cry.

“Yes. Dammit, Snow. Drop it,” Ruby warned. “Or I _will_ leave.”

Snow took a breath and dropped her shoulders, swallowing back whatever she wanted to say. “Fine, you can have your secrets for now, but I really think we should discuss this later.” Her face softened as she came over to take Ruby’s hands in hers. “I can hep. Even if I’m just a shoulder to cry on.”

Ruby didn’t want to cry. She’d done enough of it, already. “I’ll think about it,” Ruby said, breathing out the words heavily. “Now, can we move on from my life?”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Anything else,” came the reply. Then, hesitating, Ruby looked to baby Neal for support. “Have you got any play dates set up?”

“You don’t care about that,” Snow said.

“Aurora had her baby too, didn’t she?”

“Yes! A little girl. Briar Rose, after her mother,” Snow said, easily falling back into conversation. “She was born with a head of golden hair, you know?”

“No,” she answered. Snow covered her mouth in humoured-embarrassment. Ruby shrugged, it was an accident, she’d let it slide. “You were born with a crop of dark hair, as you proudly like to tell anyone.”

“Hey, it’s a big thing. While others babies were bald, naked little things, I had my hair. Made me cuter.”

Ruby smiled, “You’re offending your son, you realise?”

Snow shrugged, looking over to Neal. “He can’t understand me,” she said, then looking to Ruby. “Have you ––“ she cut herself off. “I mean…” pausing, she shook her head. “I don’t know how to make that a statement.”

“No,” Ruby said smiling. “I haven’t really thought about children. To be honest, I’ve always enjoyed being the aunt, I _like_ that I can hand the child back when it’s crying, or needs to be changed.”

Snow began laughing at her. “Babies are not _its,_ you realise?”

“Well, that’s arguable,” she said, surprised that the spell allowed that. “ _Anyway_ why don’t you tell me what you’re doing. Have you gone back to teaching?”

Snow shook her head. “No, that was Mary-Margaret’s thing. She had…infinitely more patience than me, you know?”

“Not really,” Ruby whispered. “Don’t you feel like Mary-Margaret is a part of you?”

“No. She was just a made-up personality in the curse. Don’t you feel that way about Ruby? I mean, you hardly dress like… _that_ anymore.”

“No,” Ruby replied to the question. Her wardrobe change had begun before the curse broke, anyway. “They’re both are apart of me. Are _equal_ parts of me.” She frowned, looking away. “How did you just shut that off?”

“She wasn’t me,” Snow said. “It wasn’t about ‘shutting’ anything off.”

“But all that knowledge of teaching, all that past that Mary-Margaret had…” Ruby urged. They had lives, they had these ideas of what they wanted, they had history of intwined relationships, memories dating from grade to high school.

“Mary Margaret is just…someone else,” Snow shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t feel that way. I guess everyone reacted differently about the curse.”

“Yeah,” Ruby said, looking back to the table of food. Mary-Margaret would have had coasters out and a knitted cosy over the pot.  “Everyone’s different.”

She looked to her half-eaten sandwich, unable to pick it up and take another bite. Instead, she took the red mug of coffee in hand, sipping it as she asked Snow polite questions about her life as her mind drifted over the possibility of Ruby versus Red. 

Was it possible that she couldn’t love Dorothy because she had taken Ruby on. That to Red, Dorothy was her true love, but Ruby hadn’t let go of a pivotal relationship?

“What do you think?” Snow asked. Ruby froze, blinking as she tried to remember what they had been talking about.

“Sorry, can you repeat the question?” She tried to pay more attention, and as she did, the conversation moved from being about David to Neal, Emma and then Henry. And with the conversation of Henry, they came to Regina. 

“She’s using less magic,” Snow said, pointedly over her tea. “She’s good.”

“I know,” Ruby said, for what must have been the fifth time that day. Because of this, she made a bitter jab of, “She had actually been pretty nice to me during the curse.”

“Really?”

Regina, even before had Henry came along, used to politely order coffee from the diner. She never huffed, like Grumpy would in the lunch rush. Never expected anything else but a courteous “thank you”. More than anything, whenever Ruby asked in full waitress mode: “how are you today?” she’d always offered back a polite, though dismissive, “good thank you, and yourself?” 

That wasn’t to say that Regina _hadn’t_ been an asshole to her, because she had. Ruby had witnessed and been the target of Madam Mayor’s cruelties, knowing them in the form of sardonic comments and explicit exertions of power. They had petty fights, huffed sarcastic comments and wars over the diner counter, but despite all of that, Regina _had_ been nice at times.

If her memories of their relationship were true –– and she couldn’t be sure, not with how muddled they felt in her mind –– Regina had sometimes been very good to her, as well. But true or not, whatever polite relationship they had attained, it all had become dispersed when the curse broke. The Evil Queen, in some sense, had returned, and with her, Red had been brought front and centre in defence with Snow White.

Perhaps that was partially why she had never asked if it was real.

“Ruby?”

“Hmm?” Ruby said. “Sorry, lost in thought. What were you saying?”

“Nothing much. I was just saying that I think you should see her if Emma can’t solve this.”

Ruby nodded. “I will. I promise.” She should ask. She could be tactful and say that she remembered something from years ago and was it true because it was confusing her mind.

But maybe, she’d wait until the curse was broken.

“So…how’s Mulan?” Snow asked, giving her a welcome distraction.

“Good, she’s planning on returning home to family, soon. There’s a festival coming up that’s important.” She swallowed, then added, “Maybe I’ll go with her.”

Snow nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. You should take Dorothy, too.”

Ruby gave a pointed look, seeing through the innocent expression Snow had as she poured herself more tea from the blue and white teapot. 

“We broke up. Distance will be good.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Time together on some grand adventure is what you need.”

“Mm. So, what have you been doing in Storybrooke when you’re not running off to Hades?”

When four o’clock came and Emma opened the door, she offered a wince to Ruby. “Sorry, she just kinda pushed and I couldn’t lie,” she offered in explanation. Before Ruby could ask _why_ Emma was apologising or what she meant, the answer became apparent as Regina entered into the room with hands on her hips.

She looked every inch the Madam Mayor that Ruby remembered.

“Miss Lucas,” she said cooly. Ruby swallowed. _Oh no_ , she thought, before glancing to Emma and then back to Regina. 

“Regina,” she said shakily. “I see that _Emma,_ ” she threw a look to the embarrassed sheriff, “explained you of my predicament?”

“Quite,” she clipped. “Emma somehow thought she could receive the answer of your predicament without delving into details. For some reason, she believed that vague, coded questions would be perfectly adequate for breaking a curse,” Ruby winced. She could imagine the lecture Emma got from that. “But because I had previously ran into you acting strangely, it became apparent as to whom had suddenly developed a new curse in this town.”

Ruby ducked her eyes down, catching Emma’s amused smile. “Shut up,” she hissed.

“I didn’t say anything,” Emma said, still smirking at her.

“Your face did.”

“What? You look like a kid going to the principle’s office. It was funny.”

“Emma,” Regina warned, and Emma gave the same look that Ruby was sure was on her own face. She could _feel_ Snow snickering behind her. “Now, since we’re all in agreement in how ridiculous it was to go to _Emma_ before me, we can move on.”

Ruby opened her mouth to defend herself, then stopped, thinking better of it. The last thing she wanted was Regina to become even more infuriated with her.

“Yes, Miss Lucas?”

To which the spell was able to answer with, “I was scared of answering questions in front of you.” Ruby flinched, unaware that it could even answer questions like that. She felt dizzy from that bout.

“I see,” Regina said, her face appearing less confident after witnessing the spell in action. “This is far worse than I had anticipated.”

“I pissed her off pretty badly.”

“The witch who cursed you, I take it?” Regina asked. 

“Yes,” she answered. “It was…an understandable response into what I did.”

Regina didn’t answer. Instead, she came to circle around Ruby in a way that made her feel uneasy. Like she had become the prey being stalked. “Well,” she said, “firstly, I’ll need to work out what kind of spell you’re under before I try anything.”

“Which means asking questions, doesn’t it?” Ruby asked.

“It would be the most efficient way to conduct my research, yes.”

Ruby frowned, catching sight of an interested Emma and Snow. “Do we need to have an audience?” Ruby asked.

“No,” Regina said. “Miss Swan, I believe you were going to pick our son up from the Sheriff’s Station and take him to dinner. Why don’t you take your mother, with you?”

“Yes,” Ruby answered. Regina gave her a concerned look.

“I just put Neal down,” Snow replied. “And it’s only four o’clock.”

“I assure you,” Regina said. “That Miss Lucas and myself can look after your sleeping son while you go to do something with Henry.”

Snow opened her mouth and then pressed it shut. Crossing her arms, she looked to the woman defensively. “Will you be doing any magic?” she asked. 

As insensitive as the question was, it was _fair_ with everything that had happened, Ruby thought. However, it seemed redundant. How could you break a spell without conducting magic? Unless Regina had Dorothy tucked away somewhere to make true love’s kiss happen.

Now _there_ was a cross between a nightmare and her best daydream.

“There will be no magic this evening. At least, not while you’re out.” Regina said.

“No magic?” Ruby asked.

“No,” Regina repeated. “I will be merely conducting an interrogation to see what type of ‘truth curse’ this may be. However, Snow, if you prefer, we can adjourn to somewhere else?”

“I’m not against it,” Ruby answered, then scowled as everyone turned to face her. Shit. Damn. _Hell_. If this damned curse was anthropomorphised, she would strangle it.

“It shouldn’t take long,” Regina said.

Snow sighed. “As long as there’s no magic happening, I don’t see why you should leave. Maybe a couple of hours out will be good for us.” She turned, smiling to Emma who appeared unconcerned either way. 

Ruby frowned, unsure of how she felt about it. Being alone with Regina was _concerning,_ but necessary. An audience was **not** necessary. However, she had preferred working with Emma before, and yet…she wanted to work with Regina alone, now.

What did _that_ say?

Oh right, big _gay_ crush on Regina. 

“Well that’s settled then,” Regina said. “You can enjoy some time with Emma and Henry, and I will work out what particular curse is affecting Miss Lucas.” Ruby shivered at her name. Damn Regina and her passive aggressive ways.

“Excellent,” Emma said. “Sounds like a plan.” 

Ruby watched as they left, offering a small finger wave to both Snow and Emma as they offered her twin sympathetic looks before giving Regina a much less pitying goodbye. “If he cries, just pick him up and sing twinkle-twinkle little star. It’s his favourite at the moment.”

“Of course,” Regina said. Emma’s face lit up, staring at the former queen as if she was trying to imagine what that would look like.

Ruby didn’t have to imagine, she knew exactly what it looked and sounded like. Sometimes Ruby wasn’t sure if Emma remembered that Regina raised Henry.

“Oh and help yourself to anything in the fridge. Goodbye!” Snow said a final time, before pulling the apartment door shut. Ruby breathed out a sigh. As dearly as she loved Snow, she felt more at ease with only one person talking.

“Care to explain why you avoided coming to me?” Regina said, once the footsteps faded away.

Ruby was caught off guard by the question. Unfortunately, the spell was not, “I was scared,” she answered.

“Of me?”

“Sort of. More like, scared of your questions.” Ruby winced, unsure if she wanted Regina to think the worst of her, or the truth. Maybe the truth _was_ the worst of her. 

“I see,” Regina looked at her, though her hands were by her sides, appearing far more casual than when she had first stepped into the room. “Well, dear, I have no desire to humiliate you by forcing all sorts of truths to be expelled.”

“Good,” she said, nodding her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to you sooner. I was going to, but I thought Gold ––”

“You went to Gold, before _me_?” Regina said, sounding insulted.

“And then to Emma…” she added weakly. “I’m sorry, really, but I saw you this morning, and I panicked and I thought Gold would fix this and everything would be fine and ––“

“You were willing to make a _deal_ to avoid _me_?” When she said it like that, Ruby felt kind of ridiculous for what she did. 

“Yes. I was scared,” she said again, looking up at Regina. 

“You understand my point is this, right?” Regina said. “You could have made a deal with _Gold_. A very open, very dangerous deal that could have you doing who knows what.””

“Yes, I realise that _now_ ,” Ruby sulked. “I’m sorry.”

“ _I_ don’t require an apology, dear. You’re the one who almost made a deal with _Rumple,_ in case you forgot.”

Feeling very small, regardless of the fact that she was half a foot taller than Regina on flats, Ruby stared at her, sticking out her bottom lip.

“Ah,” said Regina then, her expression turning amused, “I see Henry stole that look from you.”

“I taught him,” Ruby shrugged. What could she say, she felt sorry for the kid. The look was just to help him when he got in trouble. _Not_ to manipulate people into joining his super secret operations, but, well, the kid was cunning. He got _that_ from Regina.

“If it helps, I actually thought you would be the most competent person to come to first? I just…panicked when I saw you.”

At that, Regina smiled. It warm and playful, easing her mouth to one side of her face. “Well, as I know that’s not just flattery, I’ll take it as the compliment,” she said to her. Ruby swallowed, feeling her heart race. 

“Good,” she said. “I’m glad…that you…take that as a…compliment. That is.”

Thankfully, Regina ignored that replied and instead magicked a book into her hand. 

“I thought you said no magic?”

To that, Regina smiled. “Oh, nothing worth mentioning anyway,” she said. “Now, let’s see what type of truths you can say.” Regina looked at her, tilting her head as she gave her a once-over.

_Oh no_ , Ruby thought, wondering exactly what Regina might ask her. She could ask anything, anything to mildly embarrass her to massively. Ruby felt a blush hit her cheeks, her heart racing inside of her chest. “Okay,” she managed to say.

“On what day were you born in Storybrooke?”

“I wasn’t born in Storybrooke,” Ruby answered, easing at the first question.

“Was the day you were born in the Enchanted Forest, the equivalent of a Tuesday here?”

“I don’t know,” Ruby answered. “How could I know that?”

“I assumed that you could not have, but some powerful truth spells can know any answer that could reasonably be found. As the Enchanted Forest runs on a similar three-hundred and sixty-five, so-on, rotation around the sun, you could feasibly work out the answer to what day you were born.”

“Right,” Ruby said. “Well, I can’t.”

“Obviously,” Regina said, though she still smiled at her. “Now, can you answer _any_ question that’s asked around you?”

“No,” Ruby said. “I need to hear the question, as well as understand the language.”

“If you _really_ don’t want to answer, can you avoid the question?” Regina asked.

“For a little bit, but it eventually comes out.”

Regina looked down at her book, flicking through the different marked pages she had, “I know this is obvious, but have you tried true love’s kiss to break it?”

“No.”

Regina stopped, looking at her oddly. “I would have thought that would have been your first line of defence.”

“I…it’s just not something I want to do,” Ruby explained.

“I see…care to explain _why_ this is?”

“No,” Ruby answered. Then, as Regina arched her eyebrow, “She won’t kiss me after ––“ she cut herself off, swallowing back the words. “A-after I upset her.”

“Interesting.” Ruby flushed at the words. “Not about that,” she snapped, and Ruby was sure she could see Regina’s cheek flush red. “I mean that it’s interesting that you can hold back some of the truth. But, in saying that, I honestly think you should explain to her that if she kisses you, it will _possibly_ break the curse and all it will be done with.”

Ruby bit her lip. She wasn’t sure Dorothy really wanted that, not after how they had left things. “Look, I…I don’t think kissing will work.”

“True Love always wins, remember?”

“I do,” Ruby said, before rolling her eyes. “I still don’t think it’ll work.”

“She’s your…true love,” Regina said, rolling her eyes at the term, “so it shouldn’t matter that a fight broke out because of this curse. She just has to want the spell to break in a moment of all encompassing love, and then it will.” Regina had a look of discomfort as she spoke, before she pulled her shoulders back and smiled. “True love always finds a way. Isn’t that what Snow is always preaching?”

“Do both people have to be in all encompassing love to have it work?” Ruby asked.

“Well I assume so. It’s not exactly…” Regina paused then, looking to Ruby. Her face shifted as understanding dawned over her, “I see.”

Ruby began chewing on her lip, staring at the rug on the floor. “Can you fix this?” she whispered.

“I’m not sure,” Regina admitted. “How long have you been cursed?”

“Over a montho.”

“It could ware off, with time,” Regina said. “However, it seems like a strong curse improperly placed on you. You shouldn’t be able to withhold any truths.” Regina nodded to herself, lost in thought, “ _But_ , that could also be because you’re a magical creature, rather than a human being, as the curse was made for.”

“I am human,” Ruby defended.

“Yes and no. You’re partially human, so you are, as you say, _human_ , but you’re not actually **a** human. Rather, you’re a hybrid of humanity and shapeshifting lunar magic.” 

“So what? The two magics don’t mix very well?”

“Essentially.”

Dryly, Ruby responded, “Oh. I’m just so ––“ she choked, her jaw closing. Coughing, she turned and stared at Regina.

“Aren’t you just lucky?”

“No,” the spell said. Having enough, Ruby huffed, crossing her arms. “This is completely unfair!”

“Yes,” Regina agreed. Then, reaching out, she placed a hand onto Ruby’s arm in an effort to be sincere. “Look, your best bet is trying to reconnect with Dorothy and…kiss her.”

Ruby felt her face heat as she looked down at the hand on her arm. She cared for Dorothy, a part of her _did_ love Dorothy, but not all of her did. Not all of her wanted Dorothy in the way that was expected. “What if…” Ruby whispered, and then stopped. 

“Any question you have, I’ll do my best to answer,” Regina prompted.

She tried to dismiss it, tried to say _nothing_ , but it wasn’t. She tried to say _it doesn’t matter_ , but it did. She didn’t know what to say and Regina was so close, and smelt so nice and surely, surely fifteen years ago was real, that she’d kissed Regina Mills after months of helping her with baby Henry. That they had had _something._

That Ruby had been infatuated with something real.

Maybe. Maybe it was all just a fantasy for Ruby, something she wanted to do and never did.

“What if I don’t want to be with someone because they’re my ‘true love’,” she asked her. “I mean, who decides who my soul mate is? Is it just some powers that be, to hook me up with whomever is available at the time?”

Regina opened her mouth and paused. “I don’t know,” she answered softly. “I wish I did.”

Pulling away, Ruby went to wander over to baby Neal, anywhere that wasn’t right near Regina where she so desperately wanted to admit to everything. It wasn’t fair on Regina, she decided. Even if they had been together. Even if Ruby had been in love with her. Who was she to expected Regina to reciprocate.

She looked down at the ikea crib, looking at the small child in the onesie patterned with dinosaurs and tried to remember a different time. 

“Thank you,” Ruby said, “For helping me.”

“Of course,” Regina replied. “If I can fix this, you’ll be the first to know.”

Baby Neal remained asleep in his crib, as if nothing had happened around him. His eyes were shut, his hand curled around the stuffed toy of some kind of purple dinosaur. He almost looked as Henry had at that age. 

At that, Ruby was struck with the image of Henry, dressed in more expensive baby clothes, curled up under nicer blankets, with a mobile hanging above resembling a large, plush solar system rather than wooden carved animals. 

A young Henry with dark hair and wide eyes, whom often stared inquisitively when he wasn’t crying –– and he had often cried.

“Regina?”

“Yes, dear.” she said from where she stood, seemingly studying Snow’s choice in décor via a large ink print of blue birds, flying with daisy flowers around them.

“Did I…” Ruby asked, feeling the words hesitate in her throat. “Did I baby sit for you…with Henry?” 

Regina turned on her heel, looking at Ruby with large eyes as if caught by the question. No, Ruby decided then, there was something else there. Fear, maybe? 

“You don’t remember?” Regina asked.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “A lot of my memories are muddled together. I don’t know if I dreamt some of the things that happened, fantasied about some of the others, or am just confusing it with some show I watched.” She pushed the words, trying to hold back the blush and hoped that maybe Regina would snap out a “don’t tell me you forgot about all the sex we had, too?”

But she didn’t. Instead she said, “Yes, well, the human mind can only hold so much in terms of clear visual memories, I suppose.” That was true. There was no added ability as a werewolf either, and she was holding over fifty years of memories, mixed in with some synthetic curse ones. “But to answer your question: yes, you offered to look after him so that I, and I quote, ‘could have time to pull out that stick’.” Regina gave her a look that made Ruby feel like she was going to get in trouble all over again.

She didn’t remember saying that, but if she had, it most definitely would have been in jest to _Madam Mayor_. She wouldn’t risk the diner over saying _that_ comment seriously. “Sorry?” she winced in offer of an apology. 

“Well, as it was, I did need time by myself that wasn’t with a small child or catching up on much needed work. I don’t know if the…stick was moved, but all things considered, I think it turned out fine, don’t you?”

Ruby’s mouth parted, unsure if that was a hint, or a subtle flirtation. “Yes,” the spell answered for her, as her mind mulled over what she knew. She couldn’t remember what Regina had been doing,during her free time. Graham, maybe? If so, had she, for a time, just left Graham when they were together? 

Maybe she just made cider and read classic literature. 

“I don’t believe I ever properly thanked you for that time,” Regina said, snapping Ruby from her thoughts. “So thank you, Miss Lucas.”

“Ah, we’re back to Miss Lucas again,” she replied.

“Of course, it is your name, after-all.” Regina was playing with her. There was a small smile on her lips that lit up her eyes. 

“You could call me Ruby, you know?”

The smile curved into a smirk. “No, I think you lost that privilege again. For now, at least. You can make it up to me later.”

_If only_ , Ruby thought. “Of course, _Madam Mayor_ ,” she said instead.

Regina laughed. “Now _that_ has been a while.”

“I used to call you that all the time,” Ruby said. “‘How would you like your eggs, Madam Mayor? What coffee are you after today, Madam Mayor?’”

“Even in the bedroom you used to say Madam Mayor with that indignant air about you.” Ruby paused. Regina too, froze as nothing was said in reply. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up ––“

“So that was real, too?” Ruby asked, her heart beating in her chest. “You and I?”

“Yes,” Regina said, her expression questioning. “I take it that you thought it wasn’t.” 

“I thought maybe I-I had dreamt it, or something,” she could feel the blush crawling up her neck. “It was from over fifteen years ago and… _Ruby_ was…”

“And here I had thought I’d be more memorable,” Regina joked, though the words sounded awkward, as if she didn’t know how to reply.

“You are,” Ruby said, and then stammered out after that admission. “I-I mean, that…not to say…it’s just that…” she stopped, and then swallowed. “I didn’t know if I just had an overactive –– that is to say… Shit.” She stopped, took a deep breath as she held her hands on her hips and stared at the floor. “Help?”

Regina was smirking at her, enjoying her flustered awkwardness for whatever reason. “I think we can leave the interrogation here,” Regina said. “I should have enough information to work out what curse you’re under.”

“Thank you,” Ruby whispered. “I…I might go and get a drink, or something.” With that, she headed out the door, pausing as she remembered that she was meant to be baby siting. “Neal,” she said, turning to face the child.

“It’s quite all right, Miss Lucas,” she said, still smirking at her. “I can handle _one_ Charming child. I did raise their grandson.”

That was certainly true. However, Ruby didn’t like the idea of dropping all her responsibilities on Regina, just because she was _embarrassed_. “Maybe we can just watch tv?” she offered, instead. “And we’ll wait for Snow and the others.”

Regina paused, the tip of her tongue caught between her teeth before a grande smile pulled over her face, lighting it up. “That sounds like a good idea,” she offered in return. “Would you like a drink?”

“I’ll make it,” she offered. It would keep her busy until her hands stopped shaking.

 


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Ruby sat in a booth at the diner, thinking over everything that had happened. Regina and her had watched the television until Snow came home. Neal had cried once, to which Regina handled by changing the wet diaper and then bringing him over to watch the television with them. 

After that, conversation had eased only to talking about Neal and the awful werewolf television show that had been on. Regina had smiled, offering polite conversation and some small jabs at the werewolves “change” in the show. 

It had been nice. No, it had been more than nice. She had spent the entire time thinking about how nice it had been, before coming home and panicking about the fact that she _had_ in fact slept with Regina Mills during the curse. Repetitively.

Not only that, but she had definitively initiated the relationship in the first place. She couldn’t remember why they’d broken off, but she had a feeling that, as babysitting had been less and less needed, Ruby found herself following the same suit.

Most of the year had been spent with looking after Henry, and when he was asleep, it had often ended with her in bed with Regina. Sometimes, during the day, Regina would come to spit insults at her, so that on her lunch break, Ruby would draw all her pain onto the woman’s body. They had been…raw. But there had been moments, brief, glimmering parts that had been worth it.

Like the time that Henry and Ruby had conspired to make Mother’s Day present together to give to Regina. 

It was different now, though. Regina seemed friendly and…almost willing to at least be her friend. Would it be so wrong to start something from the beginning? Would it be so selfish to want that.

“You don’t look too well,” Emma said, sitting her hot-chocolate down besides Ruby’s cappuccino. “Everything okay?”

“No,” the spell snapped out of her. Nibbling on the inside of her cheek, Ruby took a breath, went to say something and then stopped. “It’s ––” but instead of a lie, her tongue twisted in her mouth, blocking the words. Frowning, she turned to glare out of the cafe.

“Can’t say ‘nothing’, can you?” Emma took a sip of her drinking, catching whipped cream on her nose. 

“No, I can’t.” Ruby smiled at her, pointing to her nose. With the back of her hand, Emma rubbed it off. “Better,” she answered at Emma’s expectant face.

“Is the sulking about Dorothy?”

“Partially,” the spell said. Ruby groaned. “Though I don’t like that you call it _sulking_.”

“Not sure if this ‘true love’ crap is working out?”

“Yes. But it’s…” she trailed off, biting her tongue. “Complicated,” came out, suddenly. She glared at herself. “To be honest ––“

“You are.”

Ruby glared, “And don’t think I haven’t forgotten about you caving and telling Regina everything.”

Emma shrugged. “She used her Madam Mayor voice.” She smiled at Ruby, knowing that whatever resentment the werewolf had, it wasn’t serious. “So… You should talk about what’s on your mind.”

“Should I?”

Emma looked at her, nonchalant in her reply, “If you want.”

Ruby sighed. “I think I just haven’t let go of something,” she admitted. 

“Of wh– ?”

“No!” Ruby broke, drawing all attention of the diner onto her. Ducking her head, she said so only Emma could hear, “Please don’t ask. I never told anyone else and I don’t want to, just yet.”

As the diner conversation picked up again, Ruby felt her shoulders ease –– had she been in wolf form, she would have felt her ears relax. But she wouldn’t be, not for another two weeks.

Emma took another sip of hot chocolate, mulling over her answer. “How about,” she said softly, “You tell me in as little words as possible what’s going on and I’ll see if I have anything to offer.”

“Do you think you can help?” Ruby asked, not unkindly.

Emma just gave an _eh_ face. “Maybe talking with someone non-judgemental will help. I don’t exactly have the best track-record with relationships, but I can listen, if you want.”

Ruby sighed, looking down at her coffee. It was going to go cold if she didn’t drink it soon.  She hated cold coffee, almost as much as Regina did. “There was someone, briefly, before the curse broke. We stopped seeing each other long before you came into town, but…” she trailed off, tilting her head. “I never tried to reconnect with them. I…ran into them yesterday, before I saw you, and I’ve been realising that maybe…maybe I want to see why we never connected again.”

Emma nodded at her. “Nothing bad about that.”

“It’s just that, after the curse, I was embarrassed, but now…” Ruby drew in a breath. Now she missed sitting on the couch with Regina and laughing about television shows. She wanted those rare moments she had had. Or maybe she wanted something else. “I thought I was ready to be with someone, but…”

“You want to be with them, instead,” Emma concluded.

Ruby frowned. “Maybe,” she said. “I think it’s more complicated than that. I think I want to be with who they _were_ when I was _Ruby_. But they’re different now and I’m different and…” she huffed, drawing a pattern in the cappuccino froth. “What if things had been different and you never came and broke the curse, you know?” What if the curse had never existed.

“It sounds like you never got the chance to move on.”

“Is that it?” Ruby asked. “Just…that I’m hung up over something that happened, gods, forever ago?”

“If ––” Emma stopped, swallowed and began the question again. “Is it possible to explain in better detail what happened?”

“Yes,” the spell answered for her. Ruby sighed.

“You don’t have to.”

“Thank you.”

Emma shrugged. “I get it, you know. We need our secrets from time-to-time and I know mum’s been a bit pushy. It kinda looks like you’re feeling a little out of control.”

“I am. I hate this. I’m scared people are going to ask questions that I’m not ready to answer. Snow can be so… And even Belle.” Shutting her eyes, she leant back in the booth. She hadn’t seen Belle yet. She was scared. She was scared of everyone.

“Which reminds me,” Emma said. “I feel like I should warn you. Mum’s worried about you and Dorothy. I think she’s planning on somehow reminding you of what made you fall for her, or something.” Ruby stared at her, trying to work out what Emma meant. “Look I don’t know, when I left her last night, she was plotting.”

“Great. Well, fine. That’s fine. I just want this spell to be done with already.”

“True love’s kiss didn’t work?”

“Don’t know,” she answered. Pink spilled over her cheeks at the confession as she froze, waiting for Emma to say something.

“O-oh. Um,” Emma turned away, embarrassed. “Look, you love Dorothy, so maybe you should clear up this situation. Talk to the person and get some closure. It kinda sounds like something never officially ended. You just…sorta drifted, right?”

“Yes.” Ruby played with coffee, scooping the foam on and off her teaspoon. “I don’t know if it’s that easy, though. For a while I wasn’t even sure if the memories were real. Twenty-eight years, most of it like a groundhog day, gets muddled up. For a while I thought…I _hoped_ that it could have just been a dream.”

“But you clearly feel _something_ for this person.”

“I know,” Ruby said. “That’s what makes it worse. It didn’t matter if the memories were real, I was already wanting this idealised version I had of them. And that’s not fair, because it’s not real, they’re not that person any more. They’re a whole…post-curse, couple of years later person.” Who is now friends with Snow, but she couldn’t tell Emma that. That was too close to the truth.

“Look, whomever it is, I think what you need to do is talk to them. Shatter that idealisation, even if it’s just a conversation about what once was. Maybe…maybe true love isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I don’t really know. I don’t really buy the whole ‘true love’ crap, myself.”

Ruby smiled. “I didn’t either, but Dorothy and I _clicked_. Like, right away.”

Emma paused, her lips pressing much like how David’s did whenever he was about to say something that could be offensive. “Perhaps,” Emma said, stretching the word, “clicking doesn’t really mean much?”

“I broke her sleeping curse,” Ruby pointed out.

“I’m not saying you don’t love her, _truly_ , I’m just saying that maybe ‘true love’ doesn’t mean ‘soul mate’. That’s all. Maybe you fell out of love, it happens.”

Ruby paused. She’d never considered that. The Enchanted Forest had always equated true love to be Love of Your Life. Perhaps there could be something said for it to just mean loving selflessly. “Maybe,” she said. She wasn’t sure if she believed it, but she wanted to.

Emma smiled, “Look, whatever happens, I’ll stand by you, you know that, right?”

“Yes,” she answered, then for the first time, laughing at the spell. “Thank you, Emma.” 

Reaching out, Emma laid a hand over hers. “What a friends for?”

“Comfort,” Ruby answered. “And you’ve certain got that covered.”

“Well, I try.” Emma said. “Now, how about we get some pie and I’ll tell you about how I became the Dark One.”

“You became the Dark One?” She paused, shaking her head. “But Gold’s still alive.”

“You know, ever since I moved into this town, dead doesn’t seem to mean as dead as I remember, you know?”

“Yes,” she said. “Like, even before this town, back in the Enchanted Forest, dead kinda meant something permanent.”

“This town is weird.”

“Very weird,” Ruby agreed, laughing, just as Emma’s phone went off. 

“Sorry,” Emma apologised, pulling it to her ear. “Hello?” she paused, her brow pressing together. “Oh…kay. Well, she’s here with me now.”

Ruby eyebrows rose. Must be Snow on the other line, she decided, though it could also be Regina. Her stomach fluttered at the thought. Regina calling Emma about her might mean that she found the answer to the curse and Ruby could…

Could what, go back to Dorothy and continue their lives uninterrupted? If she wanted that, then she was going to have to work out what this left over feelings for Regina meant. It was possible that, maybe, Emma was right and maybe there was no such thing as true love. Maybe she’d been rushing into something with Dorothy instead of letting it happen organically. 

Maybe she was missing out on trying something with Regina.

“So,” Emma said, ending the phone call. “That was mum.”

“Oh yeah?” Ruby said, trying not to sound disappointed.

“Yeah, she sounded… _weird_ on the phone. But she wanted to do, like, a lunch-dinner thing with Ella and a few of…I guess friends? If you’re up for it, that is.” 

Ruby drew in a breath. There would be a lot of people, a lot of questions…but also, a lot of people who she _should_ see. She hadn’t seen Belle in forever, or Ella, or any of the dwarves. 

“Why not? It could be fun,” Ruby nodded, feigning a happy smile.

“Cool, I might text Regina and Henry, see if they wanna join as well,” Emma said, typing at her phone before she paused. “Is that…”

“Yes?” she said, a little bit too stiffly. “ _Yes,”_ she said firmer. “Yes it is fine. I think after yesterday…I think it’ll be fine.” She nodded to herself. Regina would certainly be a good addition, even if it meant that Ruby was going to have to monitor herself every moment.

After paying for their food, they climbed into Emma’s bug and left for Snow’s house. But as they drove down the residential streets, Ruby felt her stomach sink further into intestines. She tried to think about goods things, like that Belle might be there, and pregnant. She couldn’t believe Belle was pregnant. Everyone was…starting a life, really.

“You alright?” Emma asked. Then swore, “Shit, sorry. I didn’t mean to question.”

Just as the spell answered, “No.”

Emma smiled awkwardly behind the wheel of the bug. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, really.” Ruby laughed, “I mean, clearly it is if I can say it, right?”

“I guess?”

“Yes.” She said, shaking her her head. “Look, honestly, I am okay, I’m just overthinking seeing everyone.”

Emma nodded. “You’ll be fine. People are too introspective. Distract them with themselves and they’ll be fine.”

“Yeah,” Ruby agreed. Emma was right. It’ll be like a bar, just vague questions of ‘how are you’ and ‘what have you been up too’ and Ruby could be vague. She could answer truthfully and ask them questions about their own lives and not have to worry about anything weird.

It’ll be fine.

But as they walked in the door of Snow’s apartment, to see everyone –– the dwarves, Ella and her husband, Archie and Geppetto –– Ruby realised that none of them looked like they were eating or drinking, or even sharing small talk. In fact, they had all turned to stare, as if they were waiting for someone to say something bad.

Emma paused beside her, blinking. “Are we…ordering pizza?”

“This is an intervention,” Snow said.

Ruby’s stomach dropped. “What?” she asked. She turned to face Emma, whose face was just as confused as hers. Turning back to the blank expressions, Ruby swallowed and took a step back. “No,” she said.

“Ruby, wait,” Snow said. “Just…hear us out. Please?”

It was the _please_ that kept her feet still as she looked at her friend. “Five minutes,” she said. Snow nodded. 

“Easy, that’s all we need. Because true love,” Snow said. “Isn’t something you give up on.”

“No matter how unlikely or difficult it may be,” Ella added. “I know it’s frightening but when I ran fr–“

“Oh my god,” Ruby said. “No, absolutely not. I draw the line about listening to how you all ran from your true love only to come together in the end.”

“Fine, we’ll skip to the point then,” Snow said. “Something is stopping you and Dorothy from being together.  I think it’s in your best interest if we came together and discussed ––“

“No. No it’s not in my ––“ Ruby turned, looking to Emma. “Did you put her up to this?”

“Wha- No? No, this is _not_ me. At all.”

Ruby felt her throat swell, looking to all the other friends who had been apart of this, from the dwarves to Ella. There was no Belle, though. Ruby wished Belle was here, she would have stopped this. Maybe she wasn’t what Snow wanted to press with True Love, though.

“Ruby, I know this is difficult, but in the end you’ll see that you and Dorothy are meant to be.” Snow smiled brightly, turning to Nova, whom was holding Grumpy’s hand. “Do you want to talk about your story?” Snow asked.

“No stories!” Ruby snapped, before catching Astra’s face. “Sorry, just…not today. Look, you can say your piece, get it out and tell me how much you want me and Dorothy to be together, but it’s not going to do anything.”

Snow gave Ruby her best ‘this isn’t your turn to speak’ teacher expression. “We’re trying to help.”

“I don’t need help.”

“You broke up with Dorothy.”

“So?” Ruby replied. “Did you ever consider that maybe this is the right thing for us?”

Everyone gave her an odd look, before Snow said, “she’s your true love. I saw you wake her up with _true love’s kiss_.”

Ruby paused, her mouth opening to answer as she looked to Emma for answers. “I don’t want my life dictated by something like _true love_. I don’t…if that’s what it is, I don’t want it.”

“How can you not want true love?”

Ruby exhaled. “It’s not…that I don’t want…” she paused, trying to think about her argument, about what Emma had said to her before in the diner. “Maybe true love doesn’t work in the way we thought. Maybe it’s just about loving someone –– _truly_ –– in a moment. Maybe I’m not meant to be with Dorothy, Snow. Maybe I’m meant to be normal, like people are here, in _this_ land. And we meet people and we…we have fun and we enjoy each other’s company and…and we get to know each other and fall in love _that_ way. I mean, is that so bad?”

“I know it’s been a while since Peter, but ––“

“I’ve had relationships since Peter!” Ruby snapped.

“Yes, of course, but…” Snow paused. “Honey, you weren’t in _love_.”

Ruby drew in a deep breath, furious with that very notion. “Is it so difficult to believe that during the twenty-eight years, _someone_ actually wanted to enjoy my company? That maybe before I ran off I could have had _someone?_ ”

“No, no. of course not. I didn’t mean ––”

“No, you just meant that I’ve joined the nunnery since I accidentally ate my boyfriend. No offence, Nova.”

“Oh…it’s fine,” Nova said, shrugging weakly.

“And I don’t just mean relationships like one-night stands. I did have relationships. I _liked_ people and I pursued them and had these _wonderful_ times and I think a part of that was because there wasn’t this _expectation_ to feel like you’re in love and walking on stars at every moment because that’s not how it is. It wasn’t with…” Ruby sighed. There, that was the problem between her and Dorothy.

“But you love Dorothy,” Snow pushed.

“Yes, I do, but…there was this expectation and we kept trying to…to feel something and _Gods,_ Snow. People break up all the time. I don’t understand why are you so invested in this.” 

“Well…was it just because you weren’t feeling like you were over the moon all the time?” Snow asked.

“No, there was more to it. It was just…I dunno, the crux of it all I guess.”

“But you can fix that.”

“No, I can’t. We broke up. She doesn’t want to see me anymore, don’t you get that?”

“She…” Snow paused. “She broke up with you?”

“Yes,” Ruby said, realising now that she was skirting too close to admitting the truth.

“Why did she break up with you?”

Ruby clenched her jaw shut, her brain wracking for answer before the spell could speak for her. “She didn’t like what I had to say,” Ruby answered, feeling the spell subside in her once more, content on the truth been spoken.

“About what?”

“About who I thought about,” she choked out. Clenching her fist, she turned away, turning red as people began looking more and more interested in her spat with Snow. “Look, it’s done, okay? Dorothy realised I wasn’t a hundred percent committed and I realised that maybe…” she trailed off, shrugging and hoping that was answer enough.

“You…thought about someone else?” Snow kept questioning. God, why couldn’t she get her nose out of it.

“Yes. Yes, Snow. I thought about someone else. Just _leave it_. It’s done, it’s a decision made between Dorothy and myself. We loved each other and it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t what I wanted.” “Why?”

“Because I wanted someone else!” Ruby said. “I wanted Dorothy, I loved her, but I wanted someone else, too. And Dorothy and I…it felt _forced_ , it felt like we were trying to be something we weren’t, to prove that we were in love, truly, every single day.”

Snow look exasperated, laughing as she said, “But that’s okay if you’re just imagining someone every now and again. It’s just a fantasy. It’s not real, is it? So it doesn’t matter!”

Ruby crossed her arms, trying to swallow back the answer. “Yes it is,” still came out, spoken loud enough that people heard.

“What?”

Ruby stared at her, clenching her jaw. “Yes,” came out, between her teeth. Rolling her eyes, she said. “It was real, the person…that is.”

“You…cheated on Dorothy?” Snow asked.

“No! God, no, I did not cheat on Dorothy. It was…I wanted someone fr-from before her time.” Ruby drew in a breath. “Please, can you just not ask any more questions?”

But Snow’s face had darkened as she stepped closer, “It was during the curse, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Ruby said, through a clammed jaw. “Snow, just leave this. I swear I’ll leave.”

Snow’s face twisted, her mouth parting. “Whale!”

“What? No! I’ve never slept with…Whale. He was just a friend, for fuck’s sake.” Ruby couldn’t focus, _Whale_. Honestly, that was _Mary-Margaret’s_ one night stand.

“Then ––“

“Don’t,” Ruby warned. 

“I’m sorry, but clearly it’s driven a wedge between you and Dorothy. I have to ask.”

Ruby looked at them, her fingers shaking. “It was not a wedge! All of this, this _true love_ bullshit is a wedge. I just wanted a relationship, I wanted to date and have fun and not feel _confined_ to be in something I’m not ready for.”

But Snow just lifted her chin, and with that indignant voice, she asked, “Who was it?”

Ruby’s jaw snapped shut, she could feel the name rising in her throat. Turning away, she struggled, catching a glimpse of Emma looking away, not wanting to be a part of this, but not doing anything to stop it, either.

Tired of holding back, tired of hiding, Ruby allowed, “Regina. I slept with Regina,” to snap free from her mouth. She looked at them, her body trembling, anticipating the response. But the room was quiet. Emma’s eyes had gone wide, mouth ajar. Charming had turned away, Ella was looking down at the floor and Snow had gasped, hand slapping over her mouth. 

“ _Regina_?” she whispered. “For how long?”

“A year, for the most part,” Ruby glared at Snow, her cheeks turning as red as her namesake as tears weld up in her eyes. “But on and off for some time after.” Everyone was staring at her, muttering the name over and over as if trying to figure out if there was another Regina living in Storybrooke. 

At her sides, Ruby’s hands shook. Because, no matter how much Regina had done, no matter how much people tried to say ‘she’s good now’, she is and always will be the Evil Queen to them.

“Well, I don’t think anyone of us saw _that_ coming,” Grumpy said, looking to the other dwarves. 

“But…why?” Snow asked.

“Because she was _fun!_ ” Ruby snapped. “Because I was lonely and she noticed me, because it was the closest thing I could get to an adventure and the best one I’ve had. Because  she’s –– have you see her? She’s _gorgeous_ and powerful and like no-one else in town during that god forsaken curse…” the spell wasn’t done, it was curling in her throat. “B-because,” she felt it stutter. “Because I wanted her, more than anything else in this town and I still want her.”

“You love her, don’t you?” Snow declared. 

“Maybe,” she said, surprising herself. With a laugh, she threw her head back, nodding at her friend. “Maybe, I do, and I have no idea how Regina feels, but I care for her, I _want_ to go through all of that with her, because you know what? There was no damned expectations and Dorothy…” she swallowed, realising then. “Dorothy isn’t Regina.”

“Ruby,” Snow whispered, her face softening into that sweet-motherly face, “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Ruby stared at her friend, unable to believe the question being asked. “Really?” she asked. “Are you really asking me that after… Look at everyone’s face in this room, Snow. Now imagine that back when the fucking curse first broke,” she said, feeling the anger curl inside of her as the spell snapped away her answers for her. And Snow just stood there, acting as if Ruby had willingly answered her, her face smooth and sympathetic.

She felt nauseous looking at it.

“But…” Snow’s face was screwed up, still unable to picture it. 

“No more questions,” Ruby snapped. “I’m done.”

“Ruby ––“

“No, I’ve had enough of being humiliated in front of you.” Snow stepped forward and Ruby jerked back. “Don’t touch me,” she said, feeling the sob heave in her throat. “Don’t you dare. Just-just leave me alone!” Turning on her heel, Ruby left the room, pushing open the door to find Regina staring at her, her hand out stretched and ready to open the door.

Henry stood beside her, looking between everyone like he suddenly found himself on a stage he hadn’t prepared for.

“Ruby?” he asked, his eyes turning to her. “What’s wrong?”

She couldn’t look at him. Instead, she stared at Regina, mouth agape, frozen in place and unable to remember how to run.

Regina looked from her to the people standing behind, all of whom ducked away or flushed embarrassed as they avoided her eyes.

“Regina!” Snow said. “We ––“

Regina’s face hardened, she reached forward and took Ruby’s hand. All at once, Ruby found herself on marble floors with Henry staring around confused as to why he was back where they started.

“What’s going on?” he asked, looked between them.

Regina placed on a smile, removing her hand from Ruby’s to set onto Henry’s shoulder. “I believe there’s some cocoa in the pantry.”

“But…” he stopped then, and nodded, giving a parting confused look between the two. “I guess. Ah, do you want any?” he asked. Regina just shook her head. Henry turned and left her and Ruby to stand silently in the foyer.

Ruby rubbed at her face, flicking tears from her eyes as she turned away from Regina. There was a rawness in her mouth she couldn’t swallow back, as if needles had used her throat as a pincushion. She opened her mouth, whispering out a strangled, “thanks.”

“Why don’t you have a seat, Miss Lucas.”

_Miss Lucas_ , she felt the thought rise in her mind and fade. She wasn’t in the mood to follow that trail of thought. 

“No, I ––“ she stopped, feeling her heart drop. She didn’t know where to go. The woods would be quiet, but she would still have to cross through town to get there. 

She lifted her head, looking to Regina with open eyes. She didn’t know where to go.

“No one will come here.”

Ruby nodded, allowing herself to be lead into the parlour room. She took a seat on the white lounge, smoothing her hands down her jeans before tucking hair her ears. Regina, thankfully, didn’t ask her any questions. She moved over to her cabinet in the corner, pouring a glass of apple cider and handed it to Ruby, all in silence. 

When Henry entered, Ruby ducked her eyes down. From the corner of her eye, she could see the oversized mug placed down before his black, shined shoes stepped away from her view. “I’m going to do my homework upstairs, instead,” he said.

“Thank you,” Regina said. Ruby swallowed, keeping her eyes down until she could hear him climbing the stairs. “Drink up, dear. I have a feeling you’ll need it.”

Ruby laughed, the sound cold and hollow in her mouth. “I just feel…” she sighed, lifting the glass to her lips before letting it fall back, undrunk. “I can’t believe she did that to me.”

“Do…” Regina paused, sitting down. “If you would like, I’m happy to listen.”

Ruby turned, a small smile tipping the corner of her lips. “Thank you,” she whispered. She took a sip of the cider, staring down at the carpet as Regina smoothed her skirt over, moving to sit in the chair perpendicular to her. “I don’t know why you’re doing this.”

Regina’s eyes flashed, her expression turning defensive. “You may not ––“

“You’ve changed, I know. Everyone’s been telling me how _good_ you are,” Ruby sneered, shaking her head. She paused then, realising how she sounded. “Regina,” she said, pulling the woman’s darkened eyes to hers. “I know that you’re good. I watched you with Henry for _years_. I ––” she cut herself off. “I think I’m just angry that everyone’s telling _me_ how good you are, when…”

“When you were privy to a side of me no one else was.”

“For a while, anyway.” Running her fingers through the top of hair, Ruby tosses it back, over her shoulders and out from her eyes. Regina had turned away, once more, looking out at the window. Whatever was going on in her head, Ruby didn’t know. Not an inch of expression seemed to cross over her features.

Even after all these years, the woman still held the composure of a queen. She’d crossed her legs, hands folded in her lap and sat with her back straight. Not even once, could Ruby recall, a single slouch from the former Evil Queen. 

Ruby took another mouthful of the cider and eased herself until her spine hit the couch. “They know,” she said, feeling the cold, but warming tang of the cider stick on her tongue. “About us.”

“Mm. I wondered how long that would take.”

Ruby straightened, her shoulders squaring at the words. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry that I avoided you and didn’t ask you straight away. I’m sorry that everyone found out that I ––“ she paused, stopping the words suddenly.

Regina ignored the almost admission. “You can hardly be counted at fault in this with your current situation. Snow shouldn’t have abused the spell.” 

Ruby ducked her head. The cider seemed more sour than she remembered. It was still sweet, better than any other she’d have, but there was a tartness to it she’d forgotten. “I’m still sorry. I shouldn’t have come back.”

“And what? Allowed your self to be ostracised from society until you could find someone to break that curse?” Regina chuckled, shaking her head. “I’d like to see you try.”

“I would have found someone, eventually.”

“This is your home,” Regina said, tilting her head at Ruby.  “Besides, this town has a habit of finding out secrets. It would have come out eventually, whether we desired it or not.” She idly  gestured her hand, offering a small smile. A gentle smile, Ruby realised. 

“You’re a lot different then I remember,” she told her. 

“Is that so bad?”

“No,” Ruby said. “You’re happier than I remember.” 

Regina’s brow creased at her words. Her lips parted then, an inhale hissing between them, but no words followed. 

“I didn’t mean for that to come across rude.”

Regina stared at her for a moment, her brow pinched in thought. “We haven’t really spoken since you returned, have we?”

“I don’t think we’ve really spoken since the curse broke,” Ruby said. Swallowing, she shifted in her chair and met Regina’s eyes. “What happened?”

There was a nod as Regina pondered the question, deeming it fair to answer. “I suppose,” she began, “the curse broke and I figured that you wouldn’t be too happy about… _us._ Especially considering what I’d done to Snow. To…all of you.” Ruby nodded, there was truth in that. “And when you never tried to reach out it just confirmed my suspicions. Though, most of our friendship had drifted by the time Emma came to visit, anyway. I guess I realised that Ruby wasn’t Red.”

“That’s not true,” she replied. “We’re both, you know? I mean…maybe not _all_ of us. But…Ruby and Red may have been seperate before Emma came along, but they’re _me_ now. Every part.”

Regina smiled at her. “Well, that’s something, I suppose.”

Ruby smiled at her. She couldn’t remember why they’d stopped _seeing_ each other, but it had been for the most part around the time Henry began school. You didn’t really need a babysitter when your kid could be at school. They had occasionally met up, for quick, dirty sex over the years. Two people just wanting to feel connected with someone else, but even that had stopped eventually.

“Did you make…Ruby?” 

Regina paused, thinking over her thoughts. “Yes and no,” she said. “I gave you different memories, but I didn’t make you Ruby. I _believe_ that in landing in a world without magic, the wolf melded into Red, becoming a part of your personality rather than separating into a primal force only accessed, for the most part, by the full moon.”

Ruby let out a single, barking laugh. Here she was, thinking that maybe she couldn’t love Dorothy because of Ruby, but no. If anything, she was more herself than she had been as Red.

Regina drew in a breath, looking at her, “May I ask you a question?”

“Yes,” Ruby answered.

“After the curse broke, did you…feel used, because I ––?”

“No,” Ruby said. “No. You didn’t… I wanted it. I wanted you.”

“But you stayed away,” Regina said.

“Yeah, I did. For a long time, I wasn’t even sure if I ever had hated you.” She paused, trying to think of the words, before shaking her head. “Sorry, I..I don’t know if I want to talk about it today.”

“That’s fair,” Regina said, allowing silence to lapse over them.

She’d felt guilty about it all. She felt guilt for the things she knew she’d done, for the things she thought she had, for the things she knew she hadn’t. For weeks she couldn’t look at Mary-Margaret without feeling nauseous, but as more people admitted to the things they’d done, as revelations to some memories been confused came out, there’d been a push to forgive the previous twenty-eight years as if nothing had happened.

A part of her wanted that, a blanket forgiveness for her actions, for all the betrayals. It’d been easier to say that _she_ never pursued Regina. That she’d been cursed. But she had, eagerly and hungrily. Every part of her had wanted that. 

She still wanted that. Gods, even now, after everything, she wanted Madam Mayor ––  _Regina_ –– irrefutably. 

She missed it, the sharpness, the hiss of pain on her back as nail cut down. The whispers in her ear, the cursing and tug of a curled hand in her hair. She wanted teeth biting over her shoulder, she wanted cuts, to be bruised and indented. She wanted the sex almost as much as she wanted the moments that had been nothing more than shared intimacy.

Like watching Henry grow, making Regina a secret mother’s day present and watching her face light up as Henry handed it to her.

She wanted all of it desperately. But Regina didn’t. To Regina, she had just been someone to distract her.

Her heart thudded, catching a familiar look crossing over Regina’s face. Taking a mouthful of cider, she sat the glass down on a coaster and stood up, ignoring the cocoa Henry had made for her.

“I-I,” she said, standing up. “I’m sorry.”

“Ruby,” Regina said, and a flush crossed over Ruby’s cheeks at the tone, the sincerity crossing with panic.

“Thank you,” she said. “For helping me.”

“Of course.” Regina took a step and Ruby took one back. Panic struck her as Regina hid too late a flash of hurt. Dammit.

Ruby took a step forward, just as Henry dropped something upstairs. She stopped, hands clenching at her sides. She’d forgotten about Henry. What if he had overheard, what if he already knew? What if she kissed Regina now and he walked in and accused her of…

No. She couldn’t do this.

“I’m sorry, Regina. I…” she couldn’t say the word _need_ , she didn’t _need_ to go. But she wanted to.

Without another word, she fled the Mayor household, pushing the door open and slamming it shut with a loud _bang_ as she ran away, to the closest section of trees that she could get to.

As it was, the woods weren’t quiet enough. There were birds singing in their nests and small creatures running about as the evening grew late and the sun began to set. Ruby just sat, her back against the fallen tree as she thought over what to do. Returning home to Oz didn’t seem like a feasible option, not with how she’d left things with Dorothy, but staying here felt like hell.

Maybe she should just return to the Enchanted Forest, continue her search for her wolf pack again, by herself. Maybe she should find someone to cast a muting spell over her, so that even if her lips mouthed the words, her voice wouldn’t say anything.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, but the sun had set and it was growing dark.

Not far away, a car pull up, casting a dull yellow glow over the woods as metal doors swung shut. Ruby groaned, dropping her head in her hands as she heard the hushed whispers between David and Snow. Eventually, they subsided and only one person came walking towards her, their boots crunching over sticks and dead leaves. Snow must have told David to stay behind.

“Go away,” Ruby told her, loud enough that birds hushed their singing.

“Ruby…”

“Please,” she said. “I don’t want to see you.”

Still, the boots seem to enclose on her. “Emma told me you were here,” Snow continued to explain. 

“How did _she_ know where I was?”

“Regina told her.” 

Ruby felt a pang hit her heart. Great, Regina was telling Emma to go and fetch her like some lost puppy. That just made it the cherry on top of it all.

“I thought I should ––“ Snow continued.

“What? Gloat? Tell me _I told you so_?” Not that either of those would work. She just wanted to give a stab at Snow’s sensibilities. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“No,” Snow whispered, coming to sit beside her. “I came here to apologise.”

Ruby laughed, loud and hollow. Of course Snow White wanted to apologise. She always did, always thought it would make everything better. From the time she spilt wine on her favourite dress to the whole Regina situation. “Sure,” Ruby shrugged. “Tell me you’re sorry that you ruined my life.”

“Your life isn’t ruined, Ruby.”

To that, Ruby glared, baring her teeth. “You don’t get it, do you? The whole town knows that I’m head over _heels_ for the Evil Queen. They’re all whispering behind my back, laughing at me because how could Regina ever care for me?”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true though. I bet Grumpy’s leading the drunken gamble: Two to one, Regina topped her. Sixteen to one, she was the little spoon. Four to one, Ruby likes do it ––”

“That’s enough,” Snow said. “Look, do you remember when we under the curse, people were awful to me and David when they thought…” Snow swallowed. “It was difficult, but Ruby, their opinion doesn’t matter. You know that better than anyone else.”

She shrugged, “Yeah. Sure.”

“I’m sorry,” Snow said. “I didn’t know — and I know that doesn’t excuse my actions. What I did was _awful_ to you. And if I can do anything to make it better, I will.”

Ruby couldn’t manage looking up at her. She just shrugged, wiping at her face. “Doesn’t matter,” she sniffled out. “Everything’s gone to shit.”

“Nothing’s gone to shit.”

“ _Everyone’s_ talking about me. Regina is…is caught up in this mess and Dorothy’s gone and Mulan is…” she shrugged again, shaking. “I should never have come back.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Snow said, sitting down beside her friend. “Look, no one’s talking about you any more than they’re talking about anything else. In a few days, it’ll be old gossip and no one will care.”

Ruby frowned. “You’re terrible at this.”

“Yes,” Snow nodded. “I am, but you’re my best friend and what I did was humiliating and a huge violation of trust and I will do _everything_ in my power to fix this. You can tell some awful gossip about me to the town, if you want.”

Ruby shook her head, “No, I don’t want to do that.” She just wanted to go home and hide under the blankets and never come out. Avoid Regina at all costs and gods, Henry. She’d have to avoid him too now. And Emma, and…

Snow sighed, “Ruby, have you spoken to her about how you feel?”

“No.” She sighed. “Not in words, but I’m sure the whole town has, for me.”

Snow shook her head. “You need to tell her yourself.”

“Why?” Ruby cried. “So she can reject me to my _face?_ ”

Pulling out an embroidered handkerchief, Snow handed it to Ruby to clean her face. “Honey, you love her, and that’s a beautiful thing. And you don’t know what’s going to happen, she could return your feelings. She did once, didn’t she?”

Ruby shrugged, wiping her tears. “I don’t know how she felt then. We were just…. _together_ , sort of. I was just her babysitter and I think she was lonely at first. Henry was so young and _temperamental and…_ ”

“Oh my god,” Snow whispered.

Ruby looked to her. “What?”

“Porn,” she said, then, shaking her head. “I mean, that’s _literally_ a pornographic plot line. You being the babysitter for Regina and…” she trailed off, blinking.

Ruby let out a giggle before she sighed. “Yes,” she said. “I suppose it is.” A quiet settled over them. Only further made obvious as the bird still sung at one-another, even in the dark.

Ruby drew her knees up, hugging them as she pressing her chin on top of them. 

“Look,” Snow whispered beside her. “I may not…. _understand_ you and Regina, but I’m not against the both of you.”

“Well,” Ruby said. “That’s _something_ at least.”

“I just mean that…” she trailed off, taking a breath, “I _think_ you should try. At least, ask her out on a date.”

“Why?” Ruby asked. “She and I…” Ruby swallowed. “It’s been years. And we weren’t _serious_. At least, if we were it was…complicated. Maybe. I don’t know It was…I don’t…I don’t think I ever stopped _caring_ for her. It’s not true love, we didn’t have anything like Dorothy and I had. It was…raw. We used to get into these snarking matches and gods, there were times where I wanted her gone, where I despised her, but I..I care for her. Some part of me always wanted to go back to her.”

“Because she was easy.”

“Because there were no expectations, maybe? Because I wanted an adventure and she was _such_ an adventure for Ruby. Because she’s wicked hot –– sorry, I know that must be awkward for you.”

“Well,” Snow shrugged. “Look, we’re not in the Enchanted Forest, and even if we were, I would tell you that people have more than one true love. But…love is complicated, Ruby. When it comes down to it, you need to respect each other, and Regina has certainly come a long way since the Evil Queen. Since even Madam Mayor.”

Ruby shrugged, not knowing what to say. “So you think it won’t be so…angry?”

“I think that you both are capable of channeling negative emotions through other ways.”

“That’s what we used ––“

“Not like that!” Snow said, shaking her head. “I mean… _properly_. Discussing your feelings first. Look, you and Regina were always interwoven. Maybe if things had happened differently, you would have come along all those years later and swept her off her feet.”

Ruby frowned, trying to imagine herself doing any such thing. “I don’t know,” she said. “Regina ––“

“Is a complex person,” Snow interrupted. “Maybe you should just _try_ asking her out and see what happens?”

“Fine,” Ruby said. “But if she says no, I’m just going to live in the woods forever.”

“Even with Christmas coming up?”

“Even with Christmas coming up,” Ruby said defiantly. “I’ll have you know that I am quite capable of living in a forest.”

“Oh, I know, I’m just pointing out that you’ll miss hot water.”

“True,” she smiled wistfully. “I wouldn’t mind running a hot bath, now.”

“You should.” Snow said. “How about you come to mine, we get some wine and ice cream and watch a silly movie.” She bumped her shoulder with her best friend. “We could watch a werewolf movie and make fun of them. No questions asked,” she said, teasing her.

“That does sounds nice.” 

“I thought so,” Snow said. A silence drifted as Ruby looked out at the woods, listening to the quiet of the evening woodland creatures coming out. 

Snow took a breath, looking to her as she asked, “Are we okay?”

“No,” the spell answered. But Ruby turned, smiling at her friend, “But soon, maybe.”

“Okay,” Snow nodded. “I can live with that.”

A twig snapped and Ruby turned around, looking at Regina who had frozen in place, seemingly attempting to leave. Realising that she couldn’t sneak away, Regina settled in saying, “I see the both of you managed to not get into a fight.”

Ruby’s breath had halted, wondering how long Regina had appeared. Snow, however, rolled her eyes, standing up to look at Snow. “Miraculously, we decided to _talk_ instead of fight.”

“Miraculous,” Regina repeated back with a layer of sass added.

“When did you arrive?” Snow asked.

“Concerned I missed you hope speech about “finding” your true love when they’re a world a way?” Regina asked. “Don’t worry, I arrived just as you were talking about eating ice-cream. However, as you are not, as I thought, in danger of each other, I’ll make my ––“

“Wait,” Snow said. “I’ll go. I think…you two have a lot to talk about. Right?”

“Yes.” Ruby glared at her, watching as Snow beamed a smile, mouthing a short _sorry_ before she ran back to the road, where Charming was probably still parked and waiting for her.

Pushing off the ground, Ruby rose up from the log and brushed the debris and any odd insect from her pants. “I didn’t hear you pull up.”

“I didn’t drive,” Regina admitted. “David told me where you would be.”

“Oh,” Ruby said. “So…you just came to make sure I hadn’t…hurt anyone.”

“I sent Emma,” she explained, “but when I rang to check up, she admitted to sending Snow instead. I thought I might…check to make sure she wasn’t making things worse,” Regina replied, casting her eyes to look over the woods, rather than at Ruby. “But I see that wasn’t necessary.”

Ruby shrugged. “I think she realised what she did was wrong.”

“Doesn’t excuse the fact that she did it in the first place.” Ruby blinked, surprised at the fierce reply. Did Regina care that much about her, or was she just reflecting her own feelings about Snow?

“No,” Ruby told her, “but we’ve been friends for too long. I’m still angry with her, but she meant well. Even if she…” Ruby sighed. Snow _always_ meant well, but in that, she had always pushed a situation not unlike Daniel, not unlike Peter, not unlike _this_. Looking at Regina’s face then, she could see a similar expression reflected back. 

“Well…I also came here to say that after much research, I’m almost certain that spell will eventually wear off, rather than linger for an unknown time.”

“Really?” she asked. That at least was some good news.

“No need to make any deals with Gold,” Regina said with a small smile on her lips. “So…you can stay here until it goes away and then you can return to Dorothy and live your…happily ever after.”

Regina had shrugged, tugging at her jacket’s coat tighter around herself as she said it. A part of Ruby wanted to believe that Regina’s dismissive words over Dorothy were about her desire for her to stay, but more likely, Ruby knew, it was to do with Regina’s dislike of the words _true love_ and _happily ever after_. Right up there with: “I will always find you.”

Even so, Ruby _hoped_.

“What if I don’t want to go back to Oz,” she asked her.

“Then you should decide what you want to do,” Regina answered. She opened her mouth to say something, drawing in a breath, only to hesitate at the last moment. 

“You can ask a question,” Ruby said. 

“Do you want to stay here?” Regina asked her then, though she crossed her arms, looking defensive as she asked her question.

It was…cute, Ruby decided. 

“Yes,” she answered Regina. “But I also want to go on adventures. I want to find another wolf pack.”

“Well, there are still adventures here to be had,” Regina said. To that, Ruby couldn’t deny it. “And perhaps I could help you. I did…afterall, find one when I was…” she swallowed, “the Queen. I could find wolves again. Or at least have help you have a head start.”

“Why?” Ruby asked.

“Because I want to help,” Regina said. Shrugging. “Is that so bad?”

“But why help _me_?”

Regina seemed to be embarrassed, looking away as she gestured widely with her hands. “It was an offer. I’m sorry if that offended you.”

“It didn’t,” Ruby said, half wishing the spell had fallen upon Regina as well.

But the conversation halted there, leaving nothing to say between them. There was only the trees and the animals, filling the silence as they both stood awkwardly. Ruby thought on what Snow had said, about asking Regina out. She also thought on everything that had happened, how Regina had spoken to her, taking her away from Snow when she had desperately wanted to be as far away from them as possible.

She thought on her memories, lost and muddled but still there, before she thought on what she wanted, all of which was done in silence as Regina stood still, patiently waiting.

“Doyouwannagooutwithme?” Ruby asked in a single breath, her head bowed as she asked the ground.

“I didn’t catch a word of that.”

Ruby sighed, drawing her head up to look at Regina as her chest ached, anticipating the _no_. “Do you want go on a date? With me, that is.”

Regina’s brows had risen, before her tongue came out to lick her lips. “I suppose I’d have to ask if your just using me as a rebound to your previous girlfriend, first.”

“No, no, absolutely not,” Ruby said, desperate to assure her. “This isn’t a rebound. Gods, Regina, I…I like you.” Ruby’s hands shook as she stood her ground, swallowing back the hesitation. “I want _you_. Especially since yesterday.” 

“Oh, I know,” Regina said, a bright smile appearing over her features. 

Ruby wasn’t sure she understood her. She just stared at the smile, blinking as all the tension dropped from her body. Regina was smiling at her, Regina had said _I know_. Regina… “You knew,” Ruby said, finally.

“Very observant.”

“You knew.”

“That I did.”

“What does that mean?”

Regina was still smiling at her. “It means that I’ve been waiting for you to tell me, Miss Lucas, for quite some time about _why_ you came back to Storybrooke.”

Ruby’s shoulders dropped. “I-I,” she tried to deny it, ‘I came back to get the spell removed.”

“Is that all?”

Her mouth opened, trying to push the _yes_ out, but couldn’t. “No,” she said, frowning. She’d come to face Regina. Not ask her out, that hadn’t been on her agenda at first, but…it hadn’t _not_ been on it, either. “I didn’t expect to ask you out,” she said.

“No, but you wanted to talk about the past, at least.”

“Because I wanted to know.”

“Because you had feelings.”

“You’re mocking me,” Ruby said, feeling hurt.

“Absolutely not,” Regina said quickly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out as an attack.”

Ruby huffed, her heart still hurting. “Why didn’t say anything,” she asked, feeling a growl in the back of her throat. She’d been making an absolute fool of herself and all this time, that bullshit could have been cut through with an “I know” from the very beginning. She could have been told and all of this would have been done with and she could have moved on.

“Well I hardly knew from the moment you first stepped into Storybrooke,” Regina said. “But when you kept avoiding me and went to Gold and then _Emma_ ,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I knew something was up. And then you were always _dancing_ around a topic. It wasn’t difficult to put two-and-two together, I’ll have you know. To be honest, though, Henry put me onto it.”

“ _Henry_ knew?” Ruby cried.

“He’s very observant,” Regina said. “And has a girlfriend at the moment,” she narrowed her eyes at the mention of this, “so I presume he’s noticing romantic attachments _more-so_ because of that…factor.”

“Henry has a –– nevermind,” Ruby sighed. That was a conversation for another time. You still could have told me.”

“You had to make the decision yourself,” Regina shrugged. “If I had confronted you, you would have ran away, and believe me, I wanted to control this head on.”

“I get it, you know. I’m a big girl, Regina. You can just tell me straight on and I’ll be out of your way and we can leave and just…forget this happened.”

To that, Regina frowned. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

“Yes,” Regina answered, though the tone was dry. “I would _love_ to go out on a date with you.”

Ruby blinked. “Yes?” she questioned.

“Yes,” Regina said. “Under the condition that I am _not_ your rebound and it’s a proper date.”

“You’re not my rebound,” Ruby answered, feeling a daze take over her as slow warmth filled her veins. Yes, _yes_. “Yes?” she asked her.

“Yes,” Regina replied.

“How come you didn’t tell me?” she asked. “That you were…interested. In me.”

“I thought you were still with Dorothy, I didn’t want to be the person who came between true love, and at the time I couldn’t tell if you were here because you wanted to address the past, of if you wanted something else,” she said, looking to Ruby with a frown. “When Henry made it clear yesterday… You needed to decide for yourself what you wanted.”

“I don’t want Dorothy,” Ruby repeated again. “I did, before, but…I don’t think I ever stopped wanting you.” 

Regina gave a brittle smile. “I don’t know how you could of cared about her.”

“Dorothy?”

Regina shook her head. “Me. The mayor. While we were…” she sighed, adding, “cursed.”

“How you were with Henry showed me who you could be. I watched you sing to him. Teach him how to walk, to talk. I watched you dance and play with a child whose whole world belonged to you. You were _never_ cruel with him. I saw that there was more to you and I wanted to know every aspect.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Regina answered. “I’m not just that person.”

“I know,” she said. “But we had some fun, with the other side, didn’t we?”

“That we did.” Regina nodded, her head turning as if she was remembering some of that fun. 

Her expression softened, and Ruby thought she looked beautiful in the forest, the dappled moonlight glossing over her hair and catching against her skin. There was a faint colour to her cheeks, only heightened as her smiled pulled over teeth, her eyes coming to look back at Ruby. “Well, now most of that awkwardness is out of the way. What do you want to do?”

“Kiss you,” the spell answered. 

Regina laughed, low and warm. “Well?” she said. “I’m waiting, Miss Lucas.”

“Yes,” she answered, stepping over to Regina to lean down and kiss her. Her hands shook, her heart thudded, waiting for Regina to recoil at the last moment.

But she didn’t. Instead, Regina pushed up onto her tip toes and kissed her, dragging Ruby further down to hold her close.

It was everything Ruby remembered, soft and warming, a teasing brush. Regina’s hands tugging her closer and Ruby eagerly kissing back, her arms wrapping around the woman as Regina parted her lips against hers. Ruby’s teeth caught the former-queen’s bottom lip, tugging it as she felt a building eagerness inside of her, 

She didn’t want to stop kissing Regina.

Pressing her to the trunk of a large tree, she moved her hand to the mayor’s waist, as her other came to tangle into the dark crop of hair as Regina’s mouth moved away and Ruby began kissing down her jaw, to her neck and pausing to breath as she heard the woman catch her breath.

Stepping back, she looked at the queen, two burgundy buttons undone, her chest heaving, lipstick smudged and a smile tugging at the corners. 

“Is something the matter?”

“No. No! Nothing’s wrong, I…” Ruby breathed out, smiling. “I wanted to make sure that everything’s okay?”

Regina bit her lip, looking at Ruby. “Is that all?”

Ruby bit her lip. What she wanted to do was get Regina to _poof_ them to somewhere comfortable, but instead she answered, “No,” and smiled, waiting for Regina to do something about it.

“Mm. Care to elaboratete?”

“No,” Ruby said. “I’ll save that for our date.” And then she kissed her again.


End file.
